Bendix this week will give legislators, governmental agencies and others in the Washington, D.C., area a chance to experience current and future safety technologies.


Demonstrations will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 14 and 15 at RFK Stadium. U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton will kick off the event. Sutton, a proponent of commercial vehicle safety and a supporter of active safety technologies, will take the first ride in a truck outfitted with the Bendix ESP full-stability system and Bendix Wingman Advanced, a collision mitigation technology.

From the seat of a truck cab or motor coach, participants will experience the range of Bendix advanced safety and fuel-saving technologies. These systems are designed to help drivers mitigate rollover, loss-of-control, and rear-end collision situations, while others alert drivers to stationary objects in the vehicle's path of travel and/or an unintended departure from the current lane of travel.

Some of the systems to appear at the event have already come to attention of legislators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to propose a mandate for vehicle stability systems sometime before the end of the year.

Demo participants will also have the chance to learn about Bendix air management solutions that can improve fuel economy and lower emissions. Finally, the Bendix team will offer demo participants a glimpse of several future technologies designed to integrate video and radar.

To Be Featured

Bendix ESP is a full-stability system that helps mitigate rollovers and loss-of-control situations, and Bendix Wingman ACB, an approach to active cruise with braking, is designed to help drivers maintain a safe following distance behind vehicles in their lane through warnings and active interventions, to help them avoid rear-end collisions.

The vision-based AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System, recently acquired from Iteris, alerts truck drivers should they inadvertently drift out of their lane. The AutoVue LDW System contains a camera that tracks visible lane markings and continually detects when the vehicle begins to drift toward an unintended lane change. When this occurs, the unit automatically emits a distinctive rumble strip or other audible warning sound, alerting the driver to make a correction.

Safety Direct, also recently purchased from Iteris, provides real-time driver performance data captured by the AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System and, in the near future, other onboard safety systems, such as stability and collision mitigation technology. Fleet managers can view this information through a Web-based portal or, utilizing the fleet's existing vehicle communications system, receive reports directly.

The Bendix ADB22X air brake will also be demonstrated. The brake exceeds the newly mandated 30% reduction in stopping distance regulations. Since its introduction in 2005, more than 175,000 Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes have been produced.

The Bendix air management package, consisting of the Bendix PBS Air Injection Booster, Bendix Electronic Air Control Dryer, and Bendix Turbo-Clutch Air Compressor, enhances vehicle performance, reduces fuel consumption, and improves emissions, according to the company. The technology helps optimize the performance of all engine types, including those using Selective Catalytic Reduction, Advanced Exhaust Gas Recirculation, and other technologies developed to meet the federal EPA emission standards implemented in 2007 and 2010.