Nap Time, Brought to You by Daimler According to Daimler, the day is coming when your Mercedes-Benz will no longer sit idly by as your driving fitness erodes. The manufacturer has developed a research vehicle called the TopFitTruck, featuring a gym locker's worth of enhancements intended to improve driver fitness and health. The lessons learned in this research project, intended initially to benefit long-haul truckers, would be applied toward the development of similar devices for Mercedes-Benz cars, according to Daimler. Among the health- and fitness-promoting devices under the Active Comfort umbrella is a reclining massage seat and steering-wheel pillow, which would encourage the occasional power nap when the driver was safely stopped at a travel plaza or on the side of the road. "Drowsiness at the wheel is one of the most common causes of accidents in goods transport," Siegfried Rothe, a research director at Daimler, said in a media release. In addition to the vibrating recliner, the research truck is fitted with a wider bed and a perfume atomizer. Though some over-the-road truckers might benefit from an occasional spritz of eau de cologne, this device would squirt a revitalizing menthol fragrance to help a driver maintain alertness and a soothing orange fragrance if a power nap were deemed prudent. A sound system categorizes music as relaxing or stimulating - whatever the moment should require - and selects songs based on whether the driver is dozing off or waking up. Though the truck coddles its captain at nap time, it can be a taskmaster when necessary. Expander bands can be attached to lugs in the cab roof and floor. An exercise program, developed by Daimler engineers in conjunction with doctors and physiotherapists, can be displayed on the truck's video screen, enabling the driver to get in a workout without going to the gym. The truck's air-conditioning system "ensures a "cool head" at the wheel," Daimler said, with pun apparently intended. A variety of intelligent systems, including voice-command recognition, adaptive cruise control, night-vision assist and a rain sensor are intended to relieve the driver of tasks that could cause fatigue over the long haul.