The Department of Transport has dedicated the month of October to focus and create awareness on the importance of transport and the vital role it has on the economy. The theme for 2020 is “Together shaping the future of transport”, with a call from Government for businesses to participate and provide safer, affordable, accessible and reliable transport. As is customary, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has heeded the call by offering free driver training to 160 drivers, who currently operate any of their Mercedes-Benz Actros models.
“There is no better way to ensure safety on our roads than to offer the right trucks, operated by professionally equipped drivers. Greater Safety is a core pillar of our Road Efficiency strategy and it is for this reason that our trucks boast advanced safety features such as Active Brake Assist 5, Proximity Control Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Attention Assist to name a few. A well-trained driver is greatly beneficial to all road users and is more efficient, because they experience less downtime. We are therefore excited to be offering this training to our valued customers and to actively demonstrate our promise to ensuring Greater Safety on our roads,” says Maretha Gerber Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Southern Africa.
The two-day complementary TRUCKTraining programme will be offered to selected customers based on their driver’s skill level and run from October to December 2020. The training will cover topics such as understanding Mercedes-Benz driving philosophy, applying defensive driving skills and techniques, as well as understanding the Active and Passive safety systems. Upon successful completion, the drivers will receive a Driver Training Certificate.
The benefits to the driver and customers after successful completion of the course includes, increased competence and performance of drivers, reduce environmental impact, reduced fuel consumption, lower maintenance costs and most importantly improved road safety. This certainly speaks to the Transport month initiative and everything it aims to achieve.

Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa at a Glance
Since the invention of the truck over 120 years ago, Daimler has been a pioneer in the commercial vehicle sector and is today one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers. Established in South Africa over 60 years ago, Daimler Trucks & Buses together with its brands provide optimal experience, expertise and attractive products and services to its customers. With a Southern African footprint, our success is based on our strong brands inclusive of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Buses, FUSO Trucks along with Freightliner parts and services. Our comprehensive product range is backed by our value-added services in Fleetboard, Fleetboard Professional Services, TruckStore and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. All our products are proudly assembled in our production plant in East London, South Africa.