Content area
Full Text
Kalamazoo, Mich. -- It was as if the Eaton-equipped Freightliner was driving itself.
Working like its predecessor, the Eaton Vorad EVT-300 collision warning system squawked and flashed its lights when the rig in front of us slowed, eating into our stopping distance. The Doppler radar was keeping its eye on the road.
But a new SmartCruise feature was doing something else altogether. With the driver's feet flat on the floor, our rig was automatically slowing to maintain a safe following distance. When the rig in front sped up and the following distance increased, we resumed our pre-set cruising speed. When a slower car cut in front of us, the truck defueled, the engine brake engaged and the AutoShift transmission downshifted. And again, the driver's feet never left the floor of the cab.
In an announcement that takes cruise control to a new level, the EVT-300 with SmartCruise now allows you to leave more of the driving to the truck.
Eaton has not only updated its collision warning system, but has connected signals to engine controls that let the truck act on the information. Coupled with a SmartCruise feature on an AutoShift transmission, a high-speed J1939 datalink talks to the engine and tells it when to de-fuel, applies the engine retarder, and downshifts the transmission until the truck drops below the bottom speed for the cruise control.
Just like a regular cruise control, however, the driver remains in complete control of the truck, and can still put his own foot on the throttle or brake to disengage the system.
"This is not a substitute for a safe driver," says Ken Strasser of Eaton Vorad. "It...