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Commercial Vehicles and Road Safety
Background
 Strong economic growth in South Africa and a weak rail system have placed much pressure on road transport. Road transport is the fastest, cheapest, most flexible and most efficient means of transportation and it is expected to increase further in the next few years.
Commercial vehicles are making significant contributions to the improvement of road safety today. While trucks are commonly perceived as a major road safety concern, this is not supported by accident research.
The involvement of a commercial vehicle in an accident in no way implies its responsibility for the accident. International research has shown that more than half of the serious accidents with trucks are caused by the automobile driver.
A safety culture with respect to commercial vehicles is therefore not exclusively meant for transport operators, but for everyone sharing the road with them.
The following are important international trends with regards to commercial vehicles and accidents:
- Accidents involving commercial vehicles are generally more severe than those involving passenger cars and result in significant costs
- In Europe the number of fatalities involving trucks in Europe has declined at a faster rate than the overall trend of decline in road accidents and fatalities
- The French has identified speed as the foremost safety problem with commercial vehicle accidents
- Many accidents involving commercial vehicles – trucks in particular - are a result of tyre failures or the vehicle jack-knifing or rolling over
- Crash types may include rollovers, jackknives, contact with roadway debris, or contact with overhead structures. The next most frequent types of crashes included rear-end and sideswipes
- Contributing factors to commercial vehicle accidents include "driving without due care", "unsafe speed" and "backing unsafely"
- "Unsafe speed" is generally attributed to rollovers, rear-ends and off-road type crashes
- Other safety issues identified are driver fatigue, the need for crash-cause data, technology, and uniformity in truck safety regulations
- Crash analysis is used more frequently to design vehicles and performance-based selection of drivers for training as well as employment
Road safety for commercial vehicles should be addressed with a clear understanding of the relationships between driver, vehicle, rules and regulations, and the supporting organizations and institutions.
Safety Innovations
Commercial vehicle manufacturers are devoting significant resources and funds to building safety enhancements into their vehicles. The approach is built on the needs of the vehicle operators and designed with extensive testing and crash analysis. Safety systems must deliver information to drivers, enhance road safety and demonstrate a positive return on investment for company owners.
Safety systems for commercial vehicles include both active safety systems, which help prevent accidents, and passive safety devices, which help to mitigate their effects. The majority of active systems currently in use or under development aim to minimize driver error by recognizing potential critical situations in advance.
The overall approach to design for safety is directed toward creating a more responsive vehicle system and a more intelligent operator. All operating areas of the vehicle are being designed to enhance performance with electronics – for example, electronics applied to brakes, steering, and information flow.
Some of the safety systems include:
- Anti-Lock and Electronic Braking Systems, as well as Automatic Traction Control Systems
- Stability Control and Roll-Over Control Systems to avoid accidents due to truck or trailer skidding and overturning
- Electronic Stability Control programmes
- Obstacle-detection systems for collision avoidance
- Drowsy-driver detection and prevention systems
- Vision enhancement / Systems that help improve visibility around the truck, reducing the number of blind spots and improving indirect vision, including special mirrors, camera systems and radars
- Emergency vehicle control systems
- Electronic controls for vehicle stability, braking, and steering
- Load-tilt monitoring and rollover warning devices
- Devices for front, rear and side Under-Run Protection, which can significantly reduce the risk of injury to car drivers involved in accidents with trucks
- Adaptive and Advanced Cruise Control, which helps the driver maintain a safe, constant distance from the vehicle ahead
- Lane Guard Assistance, which warns the driver if he leaves a marked lane without using his indicator
- Tyre pressure warning systems and brake pad wear indicators
- Improved tyre safety, including innovations in treads adapted to each axle, better road holding, reduced water projection, and under-inflation detection/warning
- Collision Warning Systems, which are still under development, to warn a driver of potentially dangerous obstacles in the lane
- Systems to remind and encourage the use of Seat Belts, which dramatically reduce truck occupant fatalities
Driver Management
South African transport authorities can benefit from the European holistic approach toward drivers. This approach combines mandatory, cooperative, and comprehensive education and training with focused carrier selection and driver recruitment. The regulatory systems are prescriptive and based on the belief that effective, safer drivers will provide safer transport.
The European approach for commercial vehicle drivers provide for hours-of-service restrictions, physical requirements, mandatory use of onboard recorders (tachographs), and driver-pay requirements(minimum salary and payment by the hour).Commercial licensing requires that drivers successfully pass both administrative (demonstrating knowledge of traffic rules, safety regulations, and vehicle mechanics) and vehicle operations tests. Government certified organizations conduct most testing.
The mechanical rotary tachograph has been the primary tool for enforcing hours-of service regulations. This instrument could assist in protecting the driver from abusive and unsafe working conditions. The tachograph tracks five activities: driving time; other work time such as truck washing and administrative work; availability time, for instance waiting for a truck to be unloaded/loaded; rest time; and 15-minute break time pauses.
Driver training is an important requirement for commercial vehicle safety. A desirable educational program is one endorsed by both public and private stakeholder groups and one that advances the skills and business competency of the drivers. It is advised that the training curriculum includes minimum training standards. The goal for training and on-the-road compliance assessment is to ensure maximum driver safety and operational performance.
The Way Forward
Road safety will require co-operation between transport authorities, commercial vehicle operators and road transport organizations/ institutions.
A process of co-operation will include:
- Driver education through the development of a well-rounded, standard curriculum
- Education, testing, and licensing services readily accessible and cost-effective to advance the safety of drivers and their value to commercial vehicle operators
- Performance-based driver assessment, using performance data to better understand the needs of drivers and carriers and to develop public policy
- Weighing heavy commercial vehicles will enhance safety, maintain competition (within the industry), and preserve infrastructure
- Establishment of a strategy and programme for the collection of reliable data on commercial vehicle accidents and safety
- Increasing the level of market adoption of existing and future safety systems
- Introducing incentives for investing in safety
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