Drive
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2010 Mercedes-Benz S 400 Hybrid
By Kim Reynolds
Published: July 01, 2009
I’m silently cruising along an autobahn skirting the Black Forest in the latest long-wheelbase S-Class Mercedes-Benz sedan. However, I’m traveling at hardly what you’d think of as autobahn speeds. I’m doing perhaps 160 kilometers per hour, about 100 mph. Truth be told, the days of go-for-broke Indy-like speeds on Germany’s freeways are now about as frequent as the big race itself, what with stiff traffic and restricted speed zones every 20 miles or so – such as this one I’m approaching, I suddenly realize, as an “80 km/h” symbol abruptly appears on the Mercedes’ instrument panel.
How does it know? Software is analyzing the image ahead from a forward-looking video camera that can recognize European road signs, read them and even double check that the speed is reasonable by comparing it to the navigation system’s road maps. (Who knows? Maybe that was just an image of a speed limit sign included in a roadside advertisement.)
The traffic suddenly slows. If I’d been caught unaware, the Pre-Safe system would have calculated the geometry of a potential impact, warned me and even taken charge of the situation by slamming on the brakes, if for some reason I didn’t.
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I’m silently cruising along an autobahn skirting the Black Forest in the latest long-wheelbase S-Class Mercedes-Benz sedan. However, I’m traveling at hardly what you’d think of as autobahn speeds. I’m doing perhaps 160 kilometers per hour, about 100 mph. Truth be told, the days of go-for-broke Indy-like speeds on Germany’s freeways are now about as frequent as the big race itself, what with stiff traffic and restricted speed zones every 20 miles or so – such as this one I’m approaching, I suddenly realize, as an “80 km/h” symbol abruptly appears on the Mercedes’ instrument panel. How does it know? Software is analyzing the image ahead from a forward-looking video camera that can recognize European road signs, read them and even double check that the speed is reasonable by comparing it to the navigation system’s road maps. (Who knows? Maybe that was just an image of a speed limit sign included in a roadside advertisement.) The traffic suddenly slows. If I’d been caught unaware, the Pre-Safe system would have calculated the geometry of a potential impact, warned me and even taken charge of the situation by slamming on the brakes, if for some reason I didn’t. |
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