TRANSPORT
W
Volvo Trucks has introduced a cloud-based
service, Connected Safety, which will allow
Volvo trucks and Volvo cars to automatically
alert each other to hazardous traffic situations.
hat many motorists who
share the highways and
byways with 20-wheeler-
plus behemoths are not aware of,
is that these drivers have often put
in a 12-hour-plus day, negotiating
their way through traffic, road
hazards and sometimes circuitous
routes, all in an effort to deliver
cargo within a set timeframe,
with minimal damage — to cargo,
vehicle, or driver.
Battling the effects of fatigue,
stress, boredom, and the discomfort
of simply driving a long-haul shift can
impact severely on a driver’s ability
to concentrate and maintain focus.
They are then still forced to contend
with impatient commuters who find
their presence an inconvenience,
who zip in front of a heavily loaded
truck and expect the driver to simply
apply brakes in time to avert rear-
ending them.
With 80% and more of our cargo
transported by road, we rely heavily
on our truck drivers being safe, well
trained, and comfortable.
Over the years, truck OEMs
have realised the importance of
these factors and developed,
designed, and built trucks that our
grandparents wouldn’t recognise.
Gone are the bench seats and in
are air-cushioned individual seats
that are equipped with enough
technology to have launched the
Space Shuttle in its day. Gone
are the bone-jarring braking and
suspension systems and steering
that required the upper body
strength of an Olympian shot putter,
and in are impact-absorbing steering
wheel and column and strengthened
braking to reduce collision damage.
Rodney Selesnick, senior head:
Sales and Marketing at Everstar
Industries, points out that there
are two aspects to driver safety:
the legislative side “which is a
compliance aspect in terms of the
truck’s componentry and is tested
by the SABS and if found lacking,
will prevent the truck being on
the road.” The other side is driver
comfort.
AUGUST 2018
15