Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Also knows as “lane guard system” (MAN), “lane keeping support” (Volvo) and “telligent lane assist” (Merc).

LDW becomes mandatory in the EU on 1 November 2013 for newly type approved trucks above 3.5 Tonnes and for buses and coaches over 9 seats (including drivers). For new registrations its 1 November 2015. There may be exemptions for slow moving vehicles such as refuse wagons and possibly urban buses, but the list has yet to be established.

The Commission defines LDW as "as a system to warn the driver of an unintentional drift of the vehicle out of its travel lane". A windscreen mounted video camera picks up images of the road edge and lane markings in each side of the vehicle. Image recognition software convert the video to a measurement. If the measurement changes the warning is triggered. The system is deactivated when indicators are switched on. The cost is between £1000 - £2000.

In a survey commissioned by TRL a Berkshire based transport company the most convincing case for LDW was for coaches.