Had a truck with it for the first time recently- and not sure about it- my views can be read in THIS write up- but as a follow up would be interested if many of you have this and your thoughts on it
I have it on my car, I don’t like it, one problem being that when motorway cruising and a car pulls out in front perfectly safely the system brakes and brakes hard until it reaches its safe distance again thus causing the cars behind to brake hard also, I haven’t checked but I don’t know if it even operates the brake lights. I also feel it uses more fuel as when it’s accelerating again to get up to set speed it floors it, my car hits 7 mpg when floored. The idea is certainly sound but in reality it’s just another gizmo I don’t usually use.
I have it on my car too. It is irritating as stated above. I find it far better to manually take a couple of clicks off it when someone pulls in front of me.
It would be ideal if no one changed lanes. Ever.
I had a Volvo demo for a week with adaptive cruise control, and I loved it. I found driving so much more relaxing with it, especially in heavy traffic. In the roadworks on the M1, the speed of traffic varies between 30 -50 mph and the truck always kept a safe distance whilst keeping speed up. If a car pulled in front of me, the engine brake kicked in to bring my speed down UNLESS the car was accelerating…in which case it just ignored it.
No i haven’t got it, and i won’t be using it if the next motor i get has it either.
We’re placing too much faith in electonic gadgets and gizmos, and the skill, constant vigilance and all round feel for what the lorry is doing by a competent driver is being gradually eroded.
Wonder what happens when the equivalent to error 403 pops up, or, again like our PCs do every now and again, gets stuck and decides it needs a shut down and restart, so better come to a sudden fail safe full stop?
This device IMHO goes into the same ‘does not belong in lorries’ list as electric parking brakes and hill hold devices, it has no place in a commercial vehicle which should be under the sole control of a competent and switched on driver at all times.
This automation really got going with automated manual gearboxes, now conveniently we have dumbed down the driving test to suit, so a pass on auto equals manual licence, thats a scandal in itself let alone no longer performing an emergency braking test or gearchanging exercise on test, and interestingly all this has gone through with hardly a sound of joint protest from those in the training industry who should have been howling from the rooftops in protest, as should driving examiners.
Juddian:
No i haven’t got it, and i won’t be using it if the next motor i get has it either.We’re placing too much faith in electonic gadgets and gizmos, and the skill, constant vigilance and all round feel for what the lorry is doing by a competent driver is being gradually eroded.
Wonder what happens when the equivalent to error 403 pops up, or, again like our PCs do every now and again, gets stuck and decides it needs a shut down and restart, so better come to a sudden fail safe full stop?
This device IMHO goes into the same ‘does not belong in lorries’ list as electric parking brakes and hill hold devices, it has no place in a commercial vehicle which should be under the sole control of a competent and switched on driver at all times.
This automation really got going with automated manual gearboxes, now conveniently we have dumbed down the driving test to suit, so a pass on auto equals manual licence, thats a scandal in itself let alone no longer performing an emergency braking test or gearchanging exercise on test, and interestingly all this has gone through with hardly a sound of joint protest from those in the training industry who should have been howling from the rooftops in protest, as should driving examiners.
No doubt you felt the same about synchro-mesh boxes and power steering. Times change, technology moves forward…and we either move forward with it or get left behind.
sayersy:
Juddian:
No doubt you felt the same about synchro-mesh boxes and power steering. Times change, technology moves forward…and we either move forward with it or get left behind.
Well, now you come to mention it, nothing can maintain progress like a properly driven constant mesh box, but even those old boxes were no match for probably the best gearbox ever fitted to a lorry, the Eaton Twin Splitter, driven properly it was as close to constant drive as you could find this side of a torque converter auto.
Compare to the interminable wait (Volvo excepted) whilst the automated manual of your choice has a meeting to decide which gear it wants and then sends a note to the clutch and throttle to do their thing.
Power steering, indeed a huge step forward, though at some cost in tyre and suspension wear.
You didn’t see lorries with no power steering being screwed around, lacking power sharpened up your manoeuvering skills pdq.
The thing thats being overlooked here is that commercial vehicles are working vehicles, not an executive’s company limo, they need to work reliably and constantly in all weathers in all conditions, and for a respectable number of years, every extra electronic toy that gets fitted is something else to go wrong.
Speak quietly to the mechanics at your lorry workshops and see what they think to the latest fitments, unprintable most of the replies will be.
Sorry to go off topic OP, just answering the above post, i won’t gibber on, for once 
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Juddian:
No i haven’t got it, and i won’t be using it if the next motor i get has it either.We’re placing too much faith in electonic gadgets and gizmos, and the skill, constant vigilance and all round feel for what the lorry is doing by a competent driver is being gradually eroded.
+1
All these systems appear to be coming in bit by bit ready for the final aim of the ‘driverless truck’.
The next step is no doubt to have trucks fully automated on motorways with adaptive cruise and lane guidance so the driver is only needed for the last few miles to reach their destination.
Reckon within 10 years we will see trucks on the m’way that don’t need a driver behind the wheel.
Dipper_Dave:
Juddian:
No i haven’t got it, and i won’t be using it if the next motor i get has it either.We’re placing too much faith in electonic gadgets and gizmos, and the skill, constant vigilance and all round feel for what the lorry is doing by a competent driver is being gradually eroded.
+1
All these systems appear to be coming in bit by bit ready for the final aim of the ‘driverless truck’.The next step is no doubt to have trucks fully automated on motorways with adaptive cruise and lane guidance so the driver is only needed for the last few miles to reach their destination.
Reckon within 10 years we will see trucks on the m’way that don’t need a driver behind the wheel.
The Volvo demo I drove also had lane guidance (annoying) blind spot detection (rubbish) and anti-collision/emergency braking (never tried it) but I watched this video about it.
Juddian is sooo right. I’ve hired cars with acc while on holiday in England and hated it with a passion, so much that I switched it off and left it off. There’s nothing wrong with my right foot and going a bit o/t, I don’t need a flashing light on the doors to tell me I should look in the mirror, or bing ■■■■■■■ bong to tell me I’m getting within 500 yards of something when I’m reversing or shunting forward in to a ■■■■■■■■■■■■, or a speed sign on the dashboard which is often totally wrong, etc, etc.
Nearly all of this crap is nowt but distracting and to some of us, a ■■■■■■■ insult. I’m glad I drive what is now considered old bangers; a '96 Ford Fairmont and a 2001 Mitsubishi Magna.
I sort of have it on my truck, that is it was fitted with it, but when we got it it didn’t work along with the normal cruise control. After much messing about from the dealer, then the technical guys in Warwick and Tethys in Sweden. The option they came up with was to switch the adaptive cruise control off and that allowed the normal cruise control to work.
However about a year later it started working.
I didn’t have much problem with it, the truck didn’t brake suddenly if somebody pulled in front but gradually increased the distance. I thought in queues of truck it allowed me to keep my distance and also spend more time concentrating on what was going on round me. But of course you can also probably get distracted by stuff in the cab, but that already happens even when the driver isn’t using ACC.
I have had it working on the busy sections of UK roads, but then you have to override it a lot to overtake. Probably better in places like Germany where you have miles of no overtaking sections.
It doesn’t work now, but I don’t really miss it, was interesting to have, but then I’m a gadget and technology fan.
If you don’t like it don’t use it simple no good trying to stand in the way of progression 
Juddian:
This automation really got going with automated manual gearboxes, now conveniently we have dumbed down the driving test to suit, so a pass on auto equals manual licence, thats a scandal in itself let alone no longer performing an emergency braking test or gearchanging exercise on test, and interestingly all this has gone through with hardly a sound of joint protest from those in the training industry who should have been howling from the rooftops in protest, as should driving examiners.
I passed my test driving a 6 speed ford cargo with an empty 30ft flatbed trailer, did that or any part of the test get me any more ready for the next truck I drove an F10 with 16speed, range change and splitter and a 45 ft loaded tilt?
Now they train and test in a truck which is far more similar to what they are likely to be driving when they start working, I believe the trailer now also has to be loaded. Driving one of them round the road for an hour with an instructor seems far more relevant to modern work than what I did for a test.
Highly interested in this type of thing, adaptive cruise (less so than >), emergency auto breaking & retarders.
Silver_Surfer:
Highly interested in this type of thing, adaptive cruise (less so than >), emergency auto breaking & retarders.
I agree, I also understand and slightly agree with Judian’s point of dumbing down. 
But my view is none of us are perfect, and an emergency brake system, or stability program or any other these gadgets only have to do their job once and their worth every penny. But of course many of these things do make truck driving easier.
I think it should be illegal for trucks not to have retarders & emergency breaking.
It will soon be required by EU-law that HGV have to have emergency breaking.
Silver_Surfer:
I think it should be illegal for trucks not to have retarders & emergency breaking.
Totally agree about retarders. At our depot half of our units have retarders and half have two stage engine brakes. Apart from the obvious safety benefits the difference in journey times and driver stress is considerable when you’re driving on hilly/mountainous terrain with a retarder. Apart from the initial outlay and a slight fuel penalty fitting a retarder is a win-win option for both the driver and the vehicle owner.
cissa:
It will soon be required by EU-law that HGV have to have emergency breaking.
I thought we already did- 9 hours in 24, but no more than 3 times a week.
ACC ,LDWA,etc will be standard fit in 2015…