RoadStars 2019 highlights so far

January – safety first.

Our RoadStars articles kicked off the year by highlighting the important topic of safety for drivers. Busy city streets can make drivers’ journeys stressful and dangerous. We explored the modern technology available in our trucks, which helps keep both drivers and pedestrians safe, including Mercedes-Benz Active Brake Assist 4 – the first emergency braking assistant with pedestrian recognition.

The award-winning Econic safety features were also discussed, along with the brilliant organisation, Driver First Assist (DFA) which trains drivers to deliver life-saving first aid treatment to casualties before emergency services reach the scene. Read the full article

Tasty trucking.

Who could forget the BFG made entirely of cakes? Haulage company, Stagefreight took on the challenge of transporting the 11 foot statue, made of 7,500 Mr. Kipling cakes to Primrose Hill, London in an Actros! Find out more about the impressive feat 

March – more heavy haulage.

More heavy haulage followed in March as CMG used their Actros to deliver a vintage Hawk Mk 50 G-HAWK aeroplane to Brooklands motorsport and aviation museum in Surrey. It was a delicate task to say the least, with 230 miles covered in total and special frames used to secure the plane. The Actros certainly did deliver though in more ways than one. Read the story

Unimogs to the rescue.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) stopped by for a chat about their three specially adapted Unimogs – saving the lives of people and animals. The agile, all-terrain vehicles contain demountable ‘pods’- one is used for firefighting and another for water rescue. The vehicles also have the capacity to tow rigid inflatable boats (RIBS) and have cranes which assist in tricky situations such as animal rescues. View the full story here

April – RoadStars VIP experience.

Lucky RoadStars member and Blue Steering Wheel Holder, Gareth Bell won a place at an exclusive safety training event in Germany. Truckers from all over Europe attended, including two from the UK and every attendee learnt valuable skills to help them improve their driving technique as well as putting Mercedes-Benz trucks and their new technology to the test. Check out the pictures

Beautiful trucks.

RoadStars were introduced to a very sleek and eye-catching Actros1 in April. Motorcycle transporters, Ideliver Group, proudly showed off their truck with matching trailer. The beautiful livery includes the signature black shade with vivid turquoise of the Actros1 and receives many admiring gazes from the trucking community. Read more

Electric trucks – what do you think?

In this month we also asked drivers for their views on electric trucks. Following polls on social media in both 2018 and 2019, we compared the results and responses of those in favour of and against the idea of electric trucks and provided our findings. Take a look

May – driver mental health matters.

May is an important month as it includes Mental Health Week. We interviewed Paul from driver lifestyle Facebook page ‘37 Plus’ along with Lee Gibson, to find out the issues surrounding the mental health of truckers and what could be done to improve their mood and wellbeing. Read their top tips

Top performing truck fleet.

Stagefreight proved the Actros was the real star of the show! Their Mercedes-Benz truck fleet ensures the show will go, on by efficiently delivering stage props, set pieces and the occasional famous performer(!) to entertainment venues across the country. Learn about their different projects

Life-saving Actros.

Wilkin and Sons shared the story of how the Active Brake Assist 4 emergency braking system in their Actros prevented a collision with a pedestrian on the crowded streets of London. Much to the relief of the individual and the driver! The team reflected on how they couldn’t do their jobs without modern technology. Find out more

June – Exciting times at Wentworth Park.

Air Products recently held their very first ‘Driver of the Year’ event at the Mercedes-Benz Wentworth Park complex. Drivers were hand-picked based on performance to take part in an thrilling day of practical activities including on and off-road trials in an Actros and Unimog, as well as manoeuvring an Econic, crane handling and steering a remote-controlled miniature Unimog around an obstacle course. Many prizes were won on the day and it was so successful, the company hopes to do it again next year. Learn more about the day

A love of trucks passed through the generations.

Rounding off the first half of the year was a family feel-good article just in time for Father’s Day, featuring Chris Atkinson and his father Michael. Both men are massive truck fans, with Michael passing on his passion for vehicles to Chris at an early age. Chris now owns a restored Mercedes-Benz 814 truck which he showcases at events along with his proud father. Read their story

What a start!

It’s been a jam-packed start to 2019 and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings. Remember, RoadStars is YOUR platform, so make the most of it. Share photos, stories and tips with other drivers and keep checking back for new articles.

Enjoyed reading our RoadStars highlights?

Please tell us which RoadStars moments were your favourites from 2019 so far in the comment section below. You could also include ideas of what you’d like to see in future articles.