A pioneering advertorial feature from the New Sprinter

Even if your fleet only operates during normal daytime hours, in winter they’re spending a few hours driving in darkness. Which, even for the most experienced drivers, can be challenging. Effective lighting for the road ahead is one way to keep them safe and keep them motoring.

As you would expect with their focus on safety and innovation, Mercedes-Benz have studied the problem of driving in the dark, and found new ways to make it easier for your drivers – as long as they are behind the wheel of the New Sprinter, of course, fitted with High-beam Assist.

See or be seen?
When you consider the far smaller numbers of vehicles on the road in the hours of darkness, the fact that 27% of all reported road accidents take place during this period1 reveals just how dangerous the conditions can be. But not all the blame can be placed on the driver.

Defective or ineffective vehicle lights, ineffective or non-existent street lighting, and other road users and pedestrians who fail to make themselves visible enough, can make it impossible to spot hazards as clearly as in daylight.

There’s also, occasionally, the problem of drivers who forget to switch from dip to main beam, or vice versa, which can be hazardous for themselves on the one hand, and for oncoming drivers on the other.

So the New Sprinter’s optional High-beam Assist is a real bright spot for driving in the dark.

Optimum illumination
Our eyes adapt to changing light conditions. So why shouldn’t our vehicle lights do the same?

The High-beam Assist function automatically controls the headlamp main beam in the New Sprinter, to adjust it for optimum lighting in accordance with the surroundings and the traffic situation.
So on an unlit country road, High-beam Assist will maintain the lights on high beam. However, when the vehicle reaches the town and the streetlights, the system automatically dips the lights. And it automatically dips them for oncoming traffic too.

No more straining to see, no more risk of dazzling other drivers, and one less thing for your fleet drivers to worry about.

Making light work
High-beam Assist is available as part of the Driving Assistance and Lane Tracking packages, and also as a stand-alone feature. But whichever option you choose, you can be sure it will help your drivers to play their part in reducing the accident statistics for after-dark driving.

It will also help to reduce driver fatigue, particularly on long journeys, which is a bonus for safety and efficiency for your fleet.

The feature operates with halogen headlamps and the optional Bi-xenon headlamps. So you have plenty of options to help your drivers make light work of driving in the dark.

Find out more for your fleet
High-beam Assist makes the New Sprinter a safer and more logical choice for driving in the dark. But with a host of other safety features, impressive fuel economy, lower whole life costs and higher residual values, it also makes real sense in the cold light of day.

To find out more about how the New Sprinter could fit your fleet and your budget, get in touch with our Fleet Business Centre here.


1 http://assets.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/road-accidents-and- safety-annual-report-2010/rrcgb2010-complete.pdf