Mack Trucks has officially raised the bar for trucking safety with the launch of its all-new Mack Pioneer™ Class 8 highway truck, featuring the groundbreaking Mack® Protect™ active safety and collision mitigation system. In a significant strategic move, Mack has transitioned from the widely used Bendix Fusion system to its own proprietary technology, promising a more integrated and optimized safety experience for drivers and fleets.

This new comprehensive safety suite marks a new chapter for the iconic truck manufacturer, bringing advanced driver assistance features developed in-house to deliver a system engineered specifically for Mack vehicles.

“With Mack Protect, we’re not just introducing new safety features – we’re fundamentally changing our approach to active safety technology,” stated Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “By developing our own proprietary system, we’ve created a seamlessly integrated safety experience that’s optimized specifically for our vehicles and our customers’ needs.”

Customizable Protection for Every Fleet

Recognizing that one size doesn’t fit all in the trucking industry, Mack is offering the Mack Protect system in three distinct packages. This tiered approach allows customers to choose the level of safety technology that best aligns with their operational demands and budget.

“We’ve taken a thoughtful approach to packaging these safety technologies,” said Blake Routh, senior highway product manager at Mack Trucks. “Rather than overwhelming customers with complex option lists, we’ve created intuitive packages that make it easy to select the right level of protection for their specific applications.”

The available packages are:

• Mack Protect (Standard): This base package comes standard on the all-new Pioneer and is focused on forward protection. It includes forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, traffic stop and go, forward pedestrian detection, road sign recognition, and frontal airbags.
• Mack Protect Pro: This package enhances the standard features by adding comprehensive side protection. It includes side curtain airbags, lane change and blind spot support for both sides of the vehicle, and side pedestrian detection.
• Mack Protect Premier: The top-tier package includes all the features of Mack Protect Pro and adds active steering capabilities with a sophisticated lane-keeping assist function, representing the pinnacle of Mack’s driver assistance technology.

Next-Generation Safety Innovations

The shift to a proprietary system has enabled Mack to introduce several advanced features never before offered on their trucks. These innovations are designed to increase driver awareness and proactively prevent incidents.

Key new technologies include:

• Driver Awareness Support: A heads-up display capability that keeps critical information in the driver’s line of sight.
• Comprehensive Radar Detection: Advanced radar systems on both the driver and passenger sides for enhanced blind spot monitoring.
• Pedestrian Detection: Forward and side pedestrian detection systems provide automatic warnings to help protect vulnerable road users.
• Active Steering Assist: The system can provide active steering input to help drivers stay centered in their lane, reducing fatigue and preventing unintentional lane departures.

“The driver awareness features we’ve developed respond directly to the challenges professional drivers face every day,” explained Scott Sokach, senior safety product manager at Mack Trucks. “Our system is designed not just to respond to emergency situations, but to help prevent them from occurring in the first place by extending the driver’s awareness of their surroundings.”

The development of proprietary systems like Mack Protect reflects a growing trend in the commercial vehicle industry, where manufacturers aim to create more cohesive and effective safety solutions. For more information on the importance of collision avoidance systems in heavy vehicles, you can reference resources from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

To learn more about the all-new Mack Pioneer and the Mack Protect safety system, visit your local dealer or go to the official Mack Trucks website.