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,ESAVINGS
Selling safety products to operators is difficult: one operator's essential safety item is another's unaffordable luxury. In this review Sharon Clancy concentrates on products that can save money by reducing repair and insurance bills as well as contributing to improved safety for drivers and the public. Some also improve a company's image, which is good for your business and the industry as a whole.
4•REVERSING AIDS
Evidence is growing that reversing aids pay for themselves quickly through reduced repair costs and insurance claims. Reversing vehicles are responsible for nearly a quarter of all deaths involving vehicles at work, according to Health and Safety Executive statistics. The Association of British Insurers reckons one in six commercial vehicle accidents happens while reversing.
Don't confuse reversing aids with reversing alarms, although the two can be combined. Alarms warn pedestrians that a vehicle is reversing; reversing aids help drivers when manoeuvring.
Alarms have a bleeper or voice recording that is activated automatically when reverse gear is selected. Some, such as those from Brigade, Preco and Proximeter, are called smart alarms because they sense the noise level around the truck and adjust output to 5dB(A) above the ambient level.
Reversing aids range from simple pressure-sensitive bumpers to closed-circuit television systems. Best known of the rear under-run bars that automatically apply the brakes when the bumper
hits an object is Hope's Sens-N-Stop option on its Safety-T-Bar bumper; TouchStop from Proximeter is another.
Next come the systems that use ultrasonic or infra-red sensors at the rear to measure distance behind the truck and detect objects such as loading banks or people that come into range. Groeneveld's Greensight and Brigade's Backscan use ultrasound: drivers get a visual aid via a series of lights which change in colour or flashing frequency the closer the vehicle gets to an object. Backscan gives a digital distance read-out.
Drivers need to trust the reliability of any system and dirty sensors can give false readings, so Greensight has self-cleaning sensors.
Proximeter's Audible Rear Sensing system uses infra-red signals and an in-cab beeper instead of lights. The infra-red signals are sent at a lower wavelength than ultra-sound and the system measures the amplitude of the signal rather than the time elapsing between sending and receiving signals as happens with ultra-sound. This, says Proximeter, enhances its ability to recognise flat obstacles.
Closed-circuit television systems that use rear-mounted cameras to relay pictures from behind the truck to a monitor in the cab were once regarded as luxury items, but prices of have come tumbling down.
Systems can now be bought for
£400, which is similar to ultra-sound systems. Brigade Electronics, Proximeter, Albert Jagger and Mitsubishi Electrics all sell CCTV systems. Brigade has just introduced a higher-specification Clarion model to its Backeye CCTV range with what it calls an "iris f-unction" which allows the driver to adjust the camera to take account of light levels.
Albert Jagger 01922 627373
Brigade Electronics 0181 852 3261
Groeneveld Transport Efficiency 01509 600033 Mitsubishi Electrics 01707 276100 Preco 01707 872535 Proximeter 0171 345 5050
+ COUPLING IN SAFETY
The area between the back of the cab and front of trailer is one of the most dangerous for a driver. Some drivers actually make it more risky by failing to apply the truck park or trailer park valves before uncoupling. Pownall Security Systems has two products designed to ensure drivers follow correct procedure.
The Auto/Manual Trailer Park valve prevents roll-aways if a driver neglects to apply the trailer park valve. The valve sets automatically when the red line is disconnected and vents the shunt/park spring brake line. The Truck Park Brake Sentinel warns drivers if they have forgotten to apply the truck park brake. A siren sounds when the cab door opens and stops only when the park brake is applied.
Trailer builder Montracon and Granlham company Fluid Power Design have both devised coupling systems that remove the driver from the coupling area danger zone and also save money by preventing damage to coupling pipes and hoses.
Fluid Power Design offers the Nexus Boom, which stops suzies and cables snagging on trailer bulkheads. The boom can be offset to one side of the tractor, so drivers can reach connections without climbing on to the tractor, and there is space for armoured cables and hydraulic hoses. Cost is around £400, but FPS says that is easily recouped because lines rarely get damaged, reducing costs and vehicle downtime. Montracon devised its MAVIS (Montracon Articulated Vehicle Interconnection System) in conjunction with Safeway.
All the air-line couplings and electrical sockets to the tractor and trailer are fed into a box that slides from side to side on a stainless steel rail fixed to the trailer's front bulkhead. Montracon says it can be retro-fitted to other makes of trailer, although it depends on the coupling box.
Fluid Power Systems 01476 566345 Montracon 01 302 73929 Pownall Security Systems 01636 490903
• IMPROVING VISIBILITY
A growing trend designed to improve the visibility of trucks and trailers at night and in poor daylight is to fix conspicuity tape on the rear and sides of vehicles. Conspicuity tape is the name for contour marking tape. It appears much brighter than the reflective film used for liveries because it contains more of the tiny microprisms that reflect any light that falls on them.
American manufacturer Reflexite says a study of 4,000 vehicles in the US over two years revealed that the 2,000 vehicles with conspicuity contour markings had fewer accidents than the 2,000 which were not equipped-21% fewer at night with a 16 % reduction in daylight.
A new United Nations specification for vehicle contour markings, ECE104, was agreed in January and publication is expected soon. It specifies what type and width of tape can be used on various parts of vehicles.
Plastics Protections has developed a version of its Eurobuckle plastic curtain buckle called Brite-Lite which has a square of Reflexite yellow conspicuity tape fixed in the recess on the front of the buckle, safe from snagging.
Being blinded by spray probably counts in the top 10 complaints by the public about the nuisance caused by commercial vehicles. So fitting extra spray-reducing kits can improve visibility and improve your image at the same time.
New from valance maker Spatz are Cutoutz and Topz. The standard Spatz covers the top half of the wheel; Cutouts are contoured around the top of the wheel, and give permanent access to wheel nuts, while Tops is designed for second steering axles that might foul standard valances.
!laic Protections 01992 479470 Reflexite 01865 396959 Spatz 0121 693 3939
+ WHEEL FIXINGS
Since Disc-Lock two-piece interlocking cam wheel nuts were first introduced in Europe three years ago more than 400,000 have been fitted and Disc-Lock says there have been no reports of any coming loose.
This safety record has been recognised by IIVIF Insurance Brokers of Long Eaton which, in conjunction with Crowe Insurance Group, is offering operators insuring with Crowe a discount of £2 per Disc-Lock nut fitted, up to £160 per vehicle and £5,000 per fleet. The list price of each DiscLock is £3.84, so prices are close to those of standard wheel nuts. To get the discount, operators should send IMF a copy of the purchase order.
Hatcher Components has developed a cheaper solution to wheel nuts working loose, called the Safe Wheel nutretaining ring.
The silver or black plastic ring fits European 10-stud wheels and is tapped on to the wheel nuts. The splined cavity grips each of the 10 nuts, stopping them rotating and loosening. The cost is about £30 a pair.
Disc-Lock Europe 01795 844332 Hatcher Components 01728 723675 IMF 0115 946 4177