p arcels carrier Tuffnells is getting tough on security Its depot
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at Haydock on Merseyside is now protected by a sophisticated network of on-site intruder detectors and closed-circuit television cameras. They are linked to an alarm receiving centre operated by remote monitoring specialist Remguard.
If the detectors activate, Remguard can use the cameras to see what is going on, and alert the police.
Tuffnells has 200 Maple Freightlock slam locks already in service and has ordered 100 more for the roller shutter doors which will be fitted to the Leyland Daf 7.5-tonne and 12-tonne box-bodied rigids now in build. To lock a Freightlock-equipped door, all the driver nee to do is shut it.
The twin-pronged approach Tuffnells has adopted illustrates important truth about commercial vehicle security; that there little point in equipping your trucks with sophisticated alarms at immobilisers if your depot is protected solely by a rusting cha link fence, and all the ignition keys are hung on a board to whi, the whole world has access.
Wally Saunders, business development manager at Maple Fk Technology, says: "There are frequent instances of criminals simp walking into yards, going into the office, picking up a ; of keys, and driving off in their chosen vehicle, waving the bloke on the gate on their way out. And the truck never seen again."
Maple makes and supplies a range of security produc including a fuel valve immobiliser, which can he us. with one that will knock out the starter motor, and a fa safe parking brake lock, says Saunders. "That sto thieves simply towing the truck away"
Ideally, any immobiliser should be transponder-open ed because the driver will not have to do anything; t device that arms and disarms it is on the key fob. ' transponder can have more than one billion combir tions," Saunders says.
"We have remote controls which can be used to arm at disarm systems, but we do not really recommend du because they do not lnst in haulage operations." DriveLock is a crafty variation on the immobiliser theme. If a truck is left unattended with keys in the ignition, the system will automatically turn off the engine and paralyse the vehicle if anyone other than the authorised driver tries to move it.
Vibration sensors
Ultrasonic detectors, which are sensitive to movement, can be installed in the truck's cab to sound an alarm if somebody smashes a window to get in. Electrical circuit breakers can be fitted to load area doors to do the same thing if somebody tries to open them, while vibration sensors can be installed in the roof. They are activated if someone attempts to cut his way through.
"Some operators use infrared detectors in cargo bodies, but hot weather can set them off, and the load itself can obstruct the beams," says Cohn Pownall of Pownall Security Systems. "Detectors which combine microwave and infrared technology can be used instead, but they are not suitable for GRP bodies because the microwaves go through the sides."
Maple is also offering a feature called Geofencing, which uses satellite technology for that little bit extra on lock safety. With this, a chip in the lock ensures that a truck's cargo door can only be opened when the driver has reached a pre-programmed destination—a supermarket's regional distribution centre, say. Satellite communications ensure that the chip knows when to release the lock.
Geofencing adds £200 to the price of a Freightlock, which itself costs £450-500.
An alternative approach is to fit a CryptaLok, says Saunders. A Customs-approved electronic sealing system combined with a LoadLocker lock, it displays a randomly-selected number at the start of the journey which is recorded on the paperwork accompanying the load. If a different number is shown on CryptaLok at the end of the trip, then the doors must have been opened en route, and the driver will have to explain why.
At £420, this form of security does not come cheap. On that score, a top-quality immobiliser, including a coded fuel valve, could cost £500-700 fitted. Electrical immobilisation with an air brake lock might cast £350.
Securing curtainsiders can be a real challenge, so bodybuilder Lawrence David has come up with Armoursheet Secure, a steel mesh that reinforces the curtains to resist knife damage.
Maple is currently testing a device which uses a voice to shout a warning if somebody ventures too close to the truck's curtains, and trigger an alarm if they loiter for longer than, say, 15 seconds.
Securing a semi-trailer is perhaps more of a challenge than securing a truck. A kingpin lock, to stop someone coupling up a tractor unit and towing away the trailer, is one option, but not a popular one among drivers.
As Saunders says: "The driver has to fit it—it doesn't come on automatically—and may not bother to do so if the kingpin is covered with grease, it's pouring with rain, and he wants his tea."
Locking the landing legs down is another option, but it may be possible for the thief to raise the air suspension to lift the legs clear of the ground.
One way of frustrating villains, however, is to fit a Knight Lock. On • trailers it prevents the air line being coupled up by replacing the male C-type coupling; it can be used to immobilise tractor units, too.
It is being marketed by RJL at £200. Richard Lloyd of RJL concedes that it is possible to outsmart a Knight Lock fitted to a trailer by crawling underneath and winding off the brakes manually, but this does takes time.
"And when you have wound off the brakes, you will be going down the road at 2mph praying that your unbraked trailer will not try to overtake you," he says, smiling. "You'll draw attention to yourself travelling that slowly."
For Lloyd, an advantage of Knight Lock is that it will not be affected by the millennium bug for it is a mechanical system that does not depend on computer software.
A truck's brakes can be immobilised by installing a Bramley Trucldock (£99.75). Key operated, and available from David Bramley Engineering, it fits into the parking brake circuit, and prevents the parking brake being released.
The standard version key can be cut in any of one million patterns. The Truck-SuperLock variant (X147), which uses high-security Kaba keys, has more than 100 million variations.
Both Truck SuperLock and Knight Lock have been given the thumbs-up by Sold Secure. With its roots in anti-theft initiatives taken by Northumbria and Essex police, it is now a limited company which evaluates security products.
Approved list
Not to be outdone, the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre at Thatcham in Berkshire has been testing truck security devices, categorising them in the way that it does car and light commercial anti-theft products. But, so far, a bare handful have reached the approved list.
Thatcham Category 3 denotes mechanical devices, and only two have achieved this status: Knight Lock and the Erentec Technoblock parking brake lock.
Category 2 refers to electro-mechanical immobilisers, while Category 1 relates to alarm/immobiliser packages complete with volumetric and perimetric protection. Scorpion has products in both of these categories.
So why is the selection so sparse?
It does not necessarily reflect a whole host of product failures, but rather the small number of devices that are presented to the research centre for testing.
.The possibility of patent disputes between rival manufacturers may be placing an artificial restriction on that total. But it may also reflect an awareness among those who make security products that, with the increasing use of electronics, the truck manufacturers will be able to use engine management systems to immobilise their vehicles. Renault, for example, has one available as a £171 line-fit option on Magnum's V-MAC management system.
This year's Institute of Road Transport Engineers show at Telford saw Maple roll out a range of microprocessor devices—all of which are millennium-compatible—under the ACER banner. Including immobilisers and alarms, they are designed to be used with engine management electronics.
Malfunction
One worry international hauliers have is that an immobiliser will malfunction in the middle of nowhere, and prevent the vehicle starting. The research centre recommends that all immobilisers come with an alternative unserting method —a four-digit PIN, say—to which the driver can resort in an emergency.
Ian Keam-George, sales director at Enigma Vehicle Systems, which supplies a variety of products intended to deter LGV thieves, suggests that separate alarm and immobiliser systems should be specified rather than integrated ones. "That way, if one system fails, and you are a long way from home, then at least you have the other still in place," he says.
Two more organisations active in truck security are the Mobile Electronics and Security Federation, and the Vehicle Security Installation Board.
The federation represents manufacturers and aftermarket installers, and has a commercial vehicle section. The board is an independent regulatory body which inspects and approves installers, and is now starting to accredit LGV specialists.
Some insurance companies are encouraging hauliers to protect their trucks by offering premium discounts. Owner-drivers with a single vehicle policy from Eagle Star, for instance, can benefit from a 5% discount if a Thatcham Category 1 device is installed, or a 10% discount if they have gone for Thatcham Category 2.
Fit Tracker or TrakBak systems, which help to pinpoint the position of a vehicle that has been stolen, and the discount is 5%. Discounts are also available on products recommended by security specialist Securinet.
Fleet operators are rated according to their claims record, says Eagle Star assistant commercial motor manager Rob Munro. If anti-theft measures are beefed up, and claims fall during the 12 months that follow, a premium reduction can be expected.
U by Steve Banner Norwich Union offers a 10% discount for Tracker and a 10% discount for a Category 1 or 2 immobiliser under its Premier Truck policy (but you still only get 10% if both Tracker and an immobiliser are installed). Some brokers also offer Premier Truck clients a £50 discount on an Ital Audio Dieselguard alarm (usua I ly £449 ex-VAT supplied and fitted).
Packages from Warminster Systems and Minorplanet can be used to track vehicles too, as can Orchid, which has been developed by Global Telematics. It meets the requirements of Thatcham's newly developed Category Q.
Greater attention to theft prevention measures may be leading to a reduction in truck crime. The Freight Transport Association's most recently published research figures (1995/96) indicate that one in five members surveyed had suffered one or more vehiclerelated thefts, compared with one in three two years before.
"But a lot of hauliers are under so much financial pressure that they cannot afford to buy security products, even though they need them," says Pownall. "And insurers do not always offer worthwhile discounts to encourage them."