Instructive: an Actros with MirrorCam is now in operation at Münsterland Transport Academy in north Germany

Approximately 150 young people qualify each year at Münsterland Transport Academy (VAM), gaining a driving licence in Class CE or C, which entitles them to drive a heavy truck with or without a trailer. "We can't complain about a lack of demand," says junior manager Daniel Autmaring. However, the 27-year-old knows: if you were to take the demand for new drivers as a measure, then it is clear that far more graduates are needed. The danger of a lack of drivers is looming. That is another reason why the VAM is putting its trust in the new Actros.

Autmaring and his colleagues are convinced: the top model from Mercedes‑Benz Trucks provides high potential – in particular as a training vehicle – to win over young people to a career behind the wheel and thus help to counter the lack of truck drivers. After all, the new Actros has the latest technology on board that is currently available for trucks. For example the new MirrorCam which replaces rear-view mirrors. Or Active Drive Assist, which is also new and illustrates how to embark on automated driving. Or Predictive Powertrain Control, the extended cruise control and transmission management system.

– Daniel Autmaring, junior manager at Münsterland Transport Academy (VAM)

At VAM, experienced coaches familiarise beginners with these assistance systems right from the start. "Once the participants have got to know them, they're generally really keen and recognise what advantages they offer," says Daniel Autmaring. "Particularly the younger generation tend to be tech-savvy and they try out the assistance systems with enthusiasm; and from the word go they feel at home in the newly designed cockpit of the new Actros with its two displays."

Since January, the VAM has been using an Actros 2545, the first model to be equipped for training new drivers. For a start, this equipment includes an additional middle seat. The instructor can sit close to the trainee, particularly during the first lessons – for example to explain the function of the displays on the A-pillars, which can be seen in the MirrorCam displays. Also, in the footwell in front of the middle and right-hand seat there are pedals installed which the instructor can use to intervene if necessary. Depending on the requirement, the black-painted truck is configured as a drawbar combination or as a solo vehicle.

Training only on Mercedes trucks.

"It's also important for us that a truck is used in as many of the companies as possible that the trainees come from. And we quickly realised that that would be the case for the new Actros," says Philipp Stegemann, commercial manager of the company from Ibbenbüren in the Münsterland region. But the strong market presence is not the only reason why VAM chose to teach only on trucks with the three-pointed star. "We do it because we believe in the technology, the reliability and the function of the vehicles." Currently there are a predecessor model and an Atego alongside the new Actros in the training fleet.

Founded in 2008, VAM is on a steady expansion course and now has a staff of about 40. The company provides training in all motor vehicle classes from light motorcycles to heavy trucks. "But we are more than just a driving school," Stegemann emphasises. They offer many further training courses. The programme ranges from courses complying with the law on the qualification of professional truck drivers (BKrFQG) to seminars on load-securing and hazardous goods, to coaching for driving instructors and transport managers.

The participants in further training, approximately 1500 per year, come from freight operators with just a handful of trucks or from family-run businesses and major hauliers. And they do not just come from the Münsterland region, as Philipp Stegemann explains. "We can use approved instruction premises anywhere in Germany and we sometimes send our instructors directly to companies."

These tours are scheduled by the companies cooperating in the scheme. The vehicles the trainees learn on, on the other hand, belong to the VAM. The Münsterland people have extended their training and coaching company by a small fleet. The aim behind this is: the companies need new young drivers, so let's make it possible! "We want to train professionals for the transport business," says junior manager Autmaring. The fleet comprising four trucks is exclusively from Mercedes‑Benz. It will surely only be a matter of time until the first new Actros is in operation here too.

Photos and video: Alexander Tempel