Journey of advancement

In my relatively limited driving career I've been fortunate enough to drive some wonderful machinery, navigate some very special roads and find my way around the odd racetrack.

But, whether I like it or not, as an 18-year-old, I represent the demographic most responsible for road accidents.

In my eyes, there is no question that understanding defensive driving techniques will make you not only a better driver, but a safer one as well; so when the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy invited me to take part in their First Gear program, I jumped on the opportunity and set-off to Sandown Raceway in Victoria to see if I could learn a thing or two.

The First Gear program has been developed for licensed drivers up to 24 years of age, and covers recognising and avoiding risk, and how to react in an emergency situation. The program is offered to friends and family of Mercedes-Benz owners, and has an immense focus on understanding the proprietary safety tech available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

When I arrived at Sandown, I was greeted in true Mercedes-Benz style: "Right this way, Mr. Leech". I got a kick out of that.

After a lunch made out of ingredients I'd never heard of, we had a driver's briefing coordinated by Chief Driving Instructor, Peter Hackett. He explained the technology we would be testing in detail, and as a sceptic of vehicle autonomy I was surprised at just how intelligent these modern car systems are.

"A Mercedes-Benz ECU contains more lines of code than they used to put a man on the moon," said Hackett, "But the technology is only useful if you know how to properly use it."

Our gun photographer Rene Mitchell-Pitman and I were paired with an Arthur Latta, an instructor who has been with the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy since the program's inception in 1998. While he agreed that there is a lot to be said about a more analogue driving experience, he said that safety advancements were also vitally important.

"The fact is a person can't react quicker than the car can," he explained. "This technology saves lives, and that's why it matters."

Before anything else, the Academy taught us to rethink aspects of our driving style to accommodate modern technology. This included dialling in the correct seating position and implementing a 'nine and three' grip on the wheel, Mercedes believes that this placement is more comfortable and will keep your hands out of the way of the airbag.

"The 'ten and two' steering technique was invented well before they had an airbag to worry about, times have changed" said our instructor.

Arthur showed us the 'leading hand' steering technique which promotes downward movements rather than lifting on the wheel, and clearly provides more stability.

Latta demonstrated the PRE-SAFE braking feature, where the car would recognise a potential collision and warn the driver of the hazard. If the driver fails to react, the car will brake for you. It is capable of applying 100 per cent of the car's braking force on its own, if required.

From behind the wheel I have to say that planting your right foot on the throttle as you careen towards an obstacle and trusting that the car will stop for you is a very unnatural feeling, especially in such an expensive car. But, it worked every time.

Beyond the auto-brake tech, the course focused heavily on (human-applied) braking techniques, how to understand and use the anti-lock braking system properly, and how to brake while steering.

In my previous experience – especially considering my daily driver has zero electronic driver aids – generating hard braking while steering can be a complex task. But translated into the cars I drove on the course, this was not the case. The sheer smoothness and ease of operation were the characteristics I found most impressive, and if this translates to fewer road accidents caused by poor drivers or driving, then I'm all for it.

"You can't predict everything that will happen on the road, so you need to know what to do when the unexpected happens," Latta explained.

We had a blast on the following exercise; we drove a C 200 equipped with a set of 'Easy Drift' tyres on the rear to simulate a very slippery road and had all traction and stability aids disengaged. We did our best to make our way around the course as spectacularly as possible.

The instructor then engaged the stability control system and asked us to try again. We proceeded to have a much more sedate drive; though with an aggressive 'Scandinavian Flick' we were able to get it briefly sideways… but only with a great deal of determination.

The academy left nothing in the change rooms, as they let me loose round the circuit in a SL 500, but the highlight of the day was certainly driving the Actros 2660 – a heavyweight truck aptly named for its 15.9-litre 447kW/2799Nm V8.

It was a strange feeling manoeuvring such an enormous vehicle, but the experience really put the sheer strength and weight of a commercial truck into perspective. Nevertheless I was surprised at how user friendly it was, with an automatic transmission and a very intuitive set of controls enabling me to navigate the course with relative ease.

Throughout the day we tested everything in what's called 'Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive'. Using an array of sensors and cameras the cars had incredible spatial awareness. Basically, when you drive a modern Merc the computer system is constantly taking measurements to ensure maximum safety. It will steer, brake and accelerate almost completely autonomously if needed.

This concept is quite scary to some, and before I took part in this program I would have told you it was a prospect destined to fail. I was sorely mistaken.

There is an argument floating about suggesting that people will begin to rely too heavily on the driver assists, but as Latta pointed out, "The technology is there to aid the driver, not replace him."
At the end of the day I took home some valuable knowledge. Autonomous cars are on their way and we need to know how they work.

"You might not think this stuff is that important now, but in a few years I guarantee the majority of cars will be fitted with most of this technology," said Hackett.

Driver training and particularly defensive driving education of any form is something that I recommend to anyone, of any level of experience.

If nothing else, you'll have a ball; I know I did.