A Mercedes-Benz Actros equipped with the new MirrorCam system has become an unexpected hit with a veteran driver at Mendip Wood Shavings.
Arthur Selway has been driving trucks for more than 40 years but believes that within five years all trucks will have cameras for mirrors.
“MirrorCam is so much better that I can really see these camera-based systems taking off. Give it five years and I reckon all trucks will have them,” Selway said.
Mendip Wood Shavings took delivery of two identical Actros 2545 tractor units with flat-floored BigSpace cabs. Supplied by Rygor Commercials, the trucks also have the StyleLine interior trim package and have been fitted with Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels and hydraulic packs by SB Components.
“I’m getting on really well with MirrorCam,” said 63-year-old Selway. “The visibility is so much better. Gone are the blind spots you get with conventional mirrors, and I can still see even when the sun’s shining directly into the cameras, while I also like the fact that they show the back of the trailer when I turn a corner.”
“The cameras don’t get anything like as dirty as mirrors,” he added. “In fact, they seem to be pretty well self-cleaning, which makes life easier. They don’t stick out as much either – having an extra foot of width on both sides of the truck certainly helped the other day, when I was swopping trailers in a congested part of west London.
As well as being a fan of the camera system while driving, Selway also says that the system is just as good when parked up. “There’s a security benefit, too. When I’m parked up in a layby for the night and hear someone pull up behind me, I can just hit the button in the back of the cab which activates the cameras, have a nose at what’s going on outside, and reassure myself that there’s nothing to worry about.”
