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Enhanced Safety Systems for Volvo Trucks are on the Way

Volvo now wants their trucks to be a lot safer than before, which is why they are looking into a system which would monitor the driver’s operation of the truck. Studies had shown that fatigue makes up 20 percent of the cause of accidents that occur in traffic. Other common causes of accidents on the road are inattentiveness and alcohol. The Safety Director of Volvo Trucks had commented regarding the issue and their company, “Our request for an exemption from normal traffic regulations is part of our development of technical systems that detect and warn a driver of fatigue and inattentiveness in traffic. The objective is to make these safety systems available in our trucks.” The system works in such a way that if the driver becomes inattentive, the pattern of the truck’s movement undergoes some changes. These changes are registered by the system, which in turn alerts the driver.

When this new safety system is tested, a prerequisite would be that the test is ensured to come equipped with thorough safety measures. There will be two drivers in each vehicle when they day of testing the system comes. “The fatigued driver will be backed-up by a driver who is rested and alert and who can quickly take control of the vehicle. In addition, there will be test leader in the cab who will monitor the entire test drive. The truck will also be clearly marked with rotating warning lamps and will be followed by a car that alerts other motorists that a test is underway.”

Current safety features included in Volvo trucks are Lane Keeping Support, Adaptive Cruise Control and ESP. Lane Keepings Support takes note of the marking lines in traffic lanes and keeps track of the truck’s position. Should the truck move sideways or off the lane’s mark, then the driver is alerted. The Adaptive Cruise Control makes sure that the truck driver keeps a proper distance between his truck and the vehicle ahead of him. The ESP is a stability control system which applies the brakes on each of the wheels if there is an impending roll-over or skidding. If the driver is going to lose control of the truck, then this system also intercedes.

source: Volvo Global

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 9:17 pm and is filed under Enhanced Safety Systems for Volvo Trucks are on the Way. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Enhanced Safety Systems for Volvo Trucks are on the Way

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