The Econic empties waste bins and cleans up sewers for Aberdeenshire Council.

Five stars for safety.

No compromises when it comes to safety: for the excellent visibility of its DirectVision cab, the Econic was awarded five out of five stars by the Transport of London committee. Big pluses: the low panoramic windscreen and the fully glazed folding door at the passenger side, which provide good all-around visibility – including for road users directly in front of or next to the vehicle.

The low seating position enables the Econic driver to establish direct eye contact with cyclists and pedestrians at crossings and in traffic queues. This direct view has been proved to reduce reaction times in dangerous situations.

"The Econic offers our drivers good visibility and not only increases safety for our crews but also for the general public and for particularly vulnerable traffic participants," summarises Paul Gray. It also offers considerable advantages in terms of ergonomics: "The low entry into the air-conditioned cab is good for health and safety because it makes life a lot easier for workers who get in and out of the cab several times a day."

In addition to its DirectVision cab, the Econic is impressive with its many perfectly coordinated safety assistance systems. The emergency braking assistant Active Brake Assist 4 is part of its standard equipment. Using a multi-mode radar system, this assistant recognises stationary and moving vehicles in front of the Econic, and is capable of fully stopping the truck in case of an emergency. The system also recognises pedestrians crossing the road, and sends an acoustic and optical warning to the driver.

This is how Active Brake Assist works.

Aberdeenshire Council has expanded the security features of the new Econic even further: all trucks are equipped with reversing assistants. The necessary equipment is already installed in the Econic as standard. This assistance system supports the driver when reversing at manoeuvring speed by showing the distance to objects on the instrument cluster and warning the driver of potential collisions in advance.

Reliable partnership.

When he talks about the qualities of his Econic fleet, Paul Gray becomes enthusiastic very quickly. Apart from their advantages in terms of equipment, he especially appreciates the vehicles' reliability, which he has been experiencing for seven years on an almost daily basis. But if a repair should still be necessary, Aberdeenshire Council benefits from a comprehensive three-year manufacturer's warranty by purchasing via the Mercedes-Benz dealer network in the UK.

He knew he was in good hands with his Mercedes-Benz dealer BLS Truck & Van in Aberdeen, Paul Gray adds: "BLS Truck & Van cooperated closely with us and the body manufacturers and contributed to us getting the vehicles most ideally suited to our daily requirements." Efficient fleet management, just to his taste.