Dieter swears by assistance systems

Safety

The Super Safety Truck.

One Actros, all the safety features: Dieter Veenhuis’ truck shows its inner values on the outside too.


“We want to offer our drivers and all other road users the best possible standard in safety.”

– Tevex transport manager Gerhard Bierschenk


Attention Assist, Stability Control Assist, Proximity Control Assist – Dieter Veenhuis’ Actros is a travelling billboard. No fewer than seven assistance systems are emblazoned on the driver’s cab, and he still gets asked whether they really are all on board.

“Yes, I tell them, and that’s not even all of them,” says Dieter. The 61-year-old drives one of around 350 Actros for Tevex, the logistics division of Tönnies Lebensmittel in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.

The company has been exclusively buying Mercedes-Benz trucks with the new Sideguard Assist since 2018. The majority of the fleet is now equipped with it. Ten Actros bear the inscription “Super Safety Truck”.

“We want to offer our drivers and all other road users the best possible standard in safety. It is very clear to see with this truck,” says Tevex transport manager Gerhard Bierschenk, and continues: “Our trucks have not caused any serious accidents in the last few years.”



It’s all about safety.

Dieter agrees: “Safety is the decisive factor. I just don’t understand drivers who turn these systems off.” He learnt driving from scratch – at a coal merchant’s close to his parents’ home. “The yard was my practice area and a Mercedes 813 was my training vehicle.” He doesn’t miss the old vehicles at all. “When I drive home from Kempten, the support from the assistance systems and all the comfort means I’m still fine when I get back. This is very different from back when I drove the SK.”

Dieter enjoys driving – whether it’s in his truck, in his motor home driving to the 24 Hours of Le Mans or in the car on the way to visit his wife’s family near Palermo. Dieter: “It sounds crazy, but I can’t get enough of driving.”



Photos: Ralf Kreuels

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