Meritor Wabco Vehicle Control Systems announced products to increase driver and highway safety, plus two new air system efficiency innovations.

The new products include:

* A strategic alliance with Takata Corp. to market its SafeTraK lane departure warning system;

* Roll Stability Support (RSS) 1M, a single-modulator system that provides trailer anti-lock braking with the added benefit of stability control;

* An electrically controlled air dryer that operates at low demand among duty cycles to improve efficiency; and

* System Saver 1200 Plus air dryer enhancements that provide application flexibility and capability for additional weight savings.

SafeTraK Alliance

The agreement with Takata and its American subsidiary, TK Holdings Inc., for its SafeTraK product was finalized this week after a preliminary agreement last October, said Meritor Wabco executives yesterday.

SafeTraK lane departure warning (LDW) is a vision-based system that monitors the road ahead and audibly warns drivers if they unintentionally depart from a lane or the road.

It optically follows lane stripes and alerts drivers of weaving, lane drifts or lane changes that occur without a turn-signal application, said Mark Melletat, director, trailer systems for Meritor Wabco.

It can also sense driver drowsiness and erratic behavior by observing a truck's movements within a lane. It will alert the driver to his condition, and through other telematic systems, could warn his superiors, Meletat said.

The compact, integrated unit consists of a camera, optics, processor and a power supply. Installation and setup is simple, he said, and can be installed by a truck builder or retrofitted to existing trucks.

The system automatically calibrates itself using the unit's integrated diagnostics and can be installed directly on the vehicle's windshield in less than an hour.

SafeTraK LDW has operated successfully for more than 800 million miles on of commercial vehicles overseas, said Kurt Hall, senior director of vehicle dynamics and controls. Takata is a multi-national company based in Japan that specializes in safety systems.

RSS 1M

Roll Stability Support (RSS) 1M, a two-sensor single-modulator system, integrates anti-lock braking and trailer stability control into a single compact unit. It senses an impending rollover and applies trailer brakes to try to stop it, said Mark Melletat, Meritor Wabco's director, trailer systems.

RSS 1M can reduce rollover incidents from sudden maneuvers and lane changes, acceleration in a curve, or simply entering a curve or ramp too fast, he said. There are 13,000 truck rollovers annually and they are the most dangerous type of accident for a driver.

The system automatically accounts for the vehicle's load status and calculates lateral acceleration. If the lateral acceleration exceeds a specific value, the system makes low-pressure check-brake applications. If it detects a possible rollover during the brake check process, it makes a full brake application.

The RSS 1M is derived from the proven RSS 2M system that has been available to fleets for 9 years, Melletat said. It is meant for vans, reefers and flatbeds with air or steel springs, and is easily retrofitable to existing equipment.

Features and benefits include proven anti-lock brake performance, stability control, integrated control and supply port screens, a tank mountable ECU/valve assembly, optional lift-axle control, generic input and output, onboard data recording and telematic broadcasting capabilities. It will also monitor the Meritor Tire Inflation System by P.S.I.

1200 Plus dryer

The System Saver 1200 Plus, developed specifically for North American air brake systems, is a high-capacity air dryer that uses internal air for regeneration. The 1200 refers to 1,200 cubic centimeters of water-stripping desiccant. The dryer incorporates the wet tank and adds a drain valve, eliminating one air reservoir in the system to save space and reduce vehicle weight.

Labor time needed to replace the spin-on cartridge is less than five minutes compared with up to 30 minutes for other air dryers, and replacement cartridges typically cost less than competitive designs. Designed to lower operating costs, the system can be used in a wide range of vocational applications, the company said.

"We engineered the system to meet the demands of the modern commercial vehicle air system requirements," said Stephen Hampson, director of compression and braking. "With the addition of the integrated wet tank, our air dryer now provides the industry a complete package for air dryer applications."