Mack to offer stability control

Allentown, PA-based Mack Trucks said it’s now offering Bendix’s ABS-6 braking system equipped with its ESP vehicle stability system as an option on all of Mack’s highway models.

“This system provides motorists and truckers with a higher level of protection against the possibility of a rollover or jackknife,” said Tom Kelly, Mack’s vp-marketing. “We’re also working very hard towards offering it [ABS-6 with ESP] on our vocational vehicles as well. [But] that’s a challenging process, since straight trucks carry such a wide variety of loads with very different centers of gravity.”

Bendix’s ESP system works by selectively applying the brakes on individual wheel ends, depending on driving conditions, vehicle speed and other inputs from onboard sensors, said Kelly, thus assisting the driver in reducing speed, keeping the vehicle in proper alignment, and reducing the possibility of a slide or jackknife.