Austria: Gerhard Gerner drives an Actros with MirrorCam
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Gerhard Gerner has seen a lot in his work. With the MirrorCam of his new Actros 2551, he now has an even better rear view.
When Gerhard Gerner looks where the rear-view mirror of his truck should be, he doesn’t see any mirrors! Instead, the goings-on behind his cab are displayed to him on two screens in portrait layout on the A-pillar of his truck. “It took some getting used to, but I’ve got the hang of things now,” says the Haberl Logistik driver from the Austrian town of Berndorf, near Salzburg, about the high-tech equipment of his new Mercedes‑Benz Actros 2551.
No wonder, as the advantages are clear: a larger field of view, no blind spots and an image that goes into the curves with you – so Gerhard can always keep his eye on the back end of his three-axle box truck.
The cargo: detergent.
Gerhard just switched from his Actros to a nimble electric pallet truck. In the warehouse of Kersia, a company located in Neumarkt am Wallersee, the 60-year-old loads pallet after pallet of canisters filled with detergent onto his truck. “Dangerous stuff,” Gerhard says with a wink. He nevertheless takes seriously the regulation for hazardous goods that applies to this load and hangs warning signs on the front and rear of the truck. He then carefully secures his freight, which is necessary even if he only needs to drive a few kilometres to the customer.
On the road for over 40 years.
Gerhard trained to be a butcher, but began driving 40 years ago. “I wasn’t able to work as a butcher for health reasons.” So he got in a truck and took off for faraway lands. “Except for Scandinavia and Russia, I’ve been nearly everywhere in Europe and the Middle East,” he says and tells of his first trip to a foreign country: Germany. “Back then, you had to be 21 to be allowed to drive a truck by yourself in Germany. So I had to pull over to the side of the road at the border and wait for a colleague, and then we drove on together. And it was only three days before my 21st birthday.”
Adventurous trips.
For Gerhard, his trips were always more of an adventure than work. “Pay was better than average, most customers offered coffee or a little snack and, along the way, I always ran into the same drivers from other companies and could have a nice chat with them.”
He never regretted his career choice. “As soon as I sat behind the wheel for the first time, I knew that this was for me. And nothing’s going to change about that in the next year and a half until my retirement.”
The MirrorCam isn’t the only thing about the Actros that Gerhard has learned to appreciate: “It’s very comfortable, great to drive and has an excellent engine. Back when I first began driving, I never could have imagined that trucks would ever come so far with regard to technology,” says Gerhard. Then he pauses for a moment. “But I’m still the one with the responsibility, so I always have to be on my toes.” Gerhard takes a pragmatic approach in this respect.
“As soon as I sat behind the wheel for the first time, I knew that this was for me.”
– Gerhard Gerner
Photos: Sebastian Freiler
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7 comments
Wünsche Dir alles Gute mit deinem neuen LKW.
Ich habe auch einen 2651 Antos mit gelenkter Nachlaufachse, aber leider nicht mit der letzten Technik. (gab es teilweise noch nicht) Bin schon bei der Vorstellung voriges Jahr mit den neuen Actros gefahren, war sofort begeistert. Gerhard ich hoffe Du kennst mich noch? LT-Biker aus Kitzeck- Südsteiermark.👍
Lg Ernst
Wünsche Dir alles Gute mit deinem neuen LKW.
Ich habe auch einen 2651 Antos mit gelenkter Nachlaufachse, aber leider nicht mit der letzten Technik. (gab es teilweise noch nicht) Bin schon bei der Vorstellung voriges Jahr mit den neuen Actros gefahren, war sofort begeistert. Gerhard ich hoffe Du kennst mich noch? LT-Biker aus Kitzeck- Südsteiermark.👍
Lg Ernst
👍👍👍👍👍👍⛟😎
👍👍👍👍👍👍⛟😎
Gruss Richard 😎😎😎👍👍👍
Gruss Richard 😎😎😎👍👍👍