Mercedes-Benz DISTRONIC: A Smarter Way to Hack Traffic | Veritasium Episode #5

What if there was a way to reduce your agitation when navigating your way through traffic? Watch in this episode the perks of an advanced driver assistance system. The “Veritasium meets Mercedes-Benz” series is here to show you the latest in auto innovation with the S-Class. For more interesting videos subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/user/MercedesBenzTV.

Cruise control in a car makes for an easy and relaxed driving experience but there is always the fear of the driver’s attention span waning slightly. The Mercedes cars with Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC provide extra security. Within the system’s limits, Active Distance Control DISTRONIC and Active Steering Assist now support the driver even more conveniently in keeping a safe distance and steering, and the vehicle speed is now also automatically adjusted on bends and at road junctions.

Improved camera and radar systems will allow it to see up to 250 metres ahead in future. On highways and motorways, Active Distance Control DISTRONIC controls the distance from the vehicle ahead within a speed range from 0 to 210 km/h, and keeps the car on track. It also makes substantially greater use of map and navigation data. This means that DISTRONIC Active Proximity Assist is able to assist the driver in many situations based on the route, and conveniently adjust the vehicle speed. The speed preset in DISTRONIC is predictively reduced according to the route ahead of bends, junctions, roundabouts or toll booths, then increased back up. If the route has been selected using the navigation system, the S‑Class also responds accordingly: if the car is in the slow lane, it is decelerated when approaching the desired motorway exit. The same applies to junctions where the navigation route prescribes a turn-off or ahead of which the driver activates the turn indicator.

When the driver wishes to change lanes on multi-lane roads (recognised by the navigation system) at speeds from 80 to 180 km/h, it is now sufficient to nudge the indicator stalk. Within the next ten seconds, the sensor system checks together with the driver whether the next lane is clear in front of, alongside and behind the vehicle, also taking into account the speed of any other vehicles. When there is no other vehicle within the relevant safety zone, the driver is supported in changing lane. The initiated lane change is indicated in the instrument cluster and on the head-up display.

In conjunction with COMAND Online, Active Speed Limit Assist – an engageable subfunction of Traffic Sign Assist – is also able to recognise sign gantries and road works signs. Known limits, such as 50 km/h in built-up areas or 100 km/h on country roads, are also adopted from the navigation system. Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC adapts the vehicle's speed to the recognised speed limits automatically. In certain cases, the speed can be adapted in anticipatory mode on the basis of map data.

Exploring the latest in technology and engineering, Veritasium brings you exciting demos, interviews, experiments and discussions in the world of science. As part of the “Veritasium meets Mercedes-Benz” series, we present five episodes exploring Mercedes’ latest innovations in the automotive industry. To find out more about intelligent driving and features such as an adaptive cruise control that automatically accelerates and decelerates accordingly in traffic, or a pre-collision system that is activated to help keep passengers safe, then watch the full series here.

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