Trucking Magazine – August 2019

NEWS INDUSTRY

8 TRUCKING August 2019 http://www.truckingmag.co.uk

Scania takes wraps off NXT urban transport concept

S

cania has lifted the lid on

its new battery electric

self-driving urban concept

vehicle. Dubbed NXT, the

vehicle is designed to

perform a range of transport roles,

from ferrying commuters to and from

work in mornings and evenings,

delivering goods during the day, and

collecting refuse at night.

“NXT is a vision of the future for

transport in cities,” said Scania’s

president and CEO, Henrik

Henriksson. “Several of these

technologies have yet to fully mature,

but for us it’s been important to

actually build a concept vehicle to

visibly and technically demonstrate

ideas of what is within reach.

“NXT is designed for 2030 and

beyond, while incorporating several

cutting-edge features that are

already available,” he added.

NXT works as a modular build in

which the front and rear drive

modules can be fitted to a bus body,

a distribution truck body or a refuse

collector. Scania said “significant

development of infrastructure” is

required to cater both for electrified

and autonomous vehicles. In

addition, the 24/7 flow of people and

goods in cities needs to be

“coherently addressed”, rather than

“disparately planned”.

“We at Scania can’t redraw the

entire transport system for cities,”

Henriksson said. “What we can do is

inspire change and that is the idea

behind NXT – to think about

transport and vehicles in a different

and sustainable way.”

“This is something new,

something very different,” added

NXT project manager, Robert Sjödin.

“Yet flexible design and modular units

lie very much at the core of Scania.”

The 8 m long bus module is built

as one composite unit, substantially

reducing weight. The cylindrical cell

Highways England trials new ‘all-in-one’ response truck

Volvo celebrates safety innovations as seatbelt turns 60

H

ighways England is hoping an all-in-one response vehicle that can

stop and direct motorway traffic after incidents – then clean up

spillages and repair the road afterwards – will “dramatically reduce

delays” for drivers.

Taking to the road network for the first time, the vehicle “combines the

expertise, knowledge and equipment of both a traffic officer and incident

support staff who deal with clean-ups and road repairs”, HE said.

The aim is for the new Enhanced Customer Response Unit (ECRU) to

save time and money and reduce hold-ups for motorists, and this will be

put to the test during a trial in the West Midlands from July.

In a new collaboration, the vehicle is being manned by both Highways

England traffic officers and incident support staff from contractor, Kier.

The first of its kind to be launched in the UK and operated this way, the

HE said ECRU will help it manage and clear incidents more efficiently

and effectively.

The vehicle began operations on July 1 and was inspired by similar

technologies used on the Australian road network. This is the first of five

ECRU vehicles set to take part in the trial in the West Midlands.

Fulfilling the role of a traffic officer vehicle, the ECRU is highly visible with

warning beacons and electronic message signs. But it can also carry more

emergency traffic management than the regular vehicles, including bigger

signs and more cones. This offers safer conditions for those working at

incident scenes. Also giving added protection to road workers and road

users is the crash cushion on the back of the ECRU, absorbing the impact

from moving vehicles if struck.

Until now, Kier teams have been called out separately to deal with the

aftermath of incidents. However, the ECRU has an onboard sweeper which

can be used to clear larger areas that have previously been cleared by

hand, as well as a pressure washer that distributes water and Fuel Safe,

treating oil and fuel spillages

more swiftly and reducing the

need to resurface carriageways.

HE said it is also trialling self-

driving trucks for the first time in

England, which could help speed

up roadworks. The dump trucks

are being used on the A

between Cambridge and

Huntingdon and can potentially

work around the clock.

T

his year marks the 60th anniversary since the

first Volvo drivers pulled Nils Bohlin’s

innovative three-point seatbelt over their

shoulders in 1959.

According to the Swedish vehicle-maker, the

seatbelt is still seen as “the world’s most important

traffic safety innovation ever” and is estimated to

have saved more than one million lives since its

introduction 60 years ago.

However, Volvo warned that too many truck

drivers are still neglecting to ‘clunk-click every trip’.

“This is clearly a waste of lives,” said Anna Wrige

Berling, Volvo Truck’s newly appointed traffic &

product safety director. “The record shows there

would be so many fewer casualties if all drivers

used their belts.”

In 1959, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin developed

the modern three-point seatbelt. Although the

design was patented, the company decided the

patent was to be left open, making it available to all

vehicle manufacturers to use for free.

“There is no safety system that comes even

close to the seatbelt in terms of saving lives, and

the three-point safety belt has protected more

people in traffic accidents than any other safety

device,” said Wrige Berling.

In many parts of the world, seatbelt usage

among heavy truck occupants is still far from

100 per cent.

“The Volvo Trucks Safety Report for 2017

showed half of all truck drivers killed in traffic

accidents would have survived if they had been

wearing their seatbelt,” Wrige Berling said.

“The facts are clear: Using the belt is very

important in trucks. For example, in rollover

accidents, the belt can help protect the driver

from being jammed between the truck and

the ground.”

batteries are placed under the floor,

thereby utilising otherwise dead

space as well as contributing to

better weight distribution. With the

low vehicle weight of less than eight

tonnes, the range with present-day

batteries is estimated at 245 km.

“Continuous improvement in small

steps has been the hallmark of

Scania,” Sjödin concluded. “We are

now taking a giant leap into the future.

This vehicle will provide tangible data

in our continued development of

electrified autonomous vehicles.”

ABOVEModular NXT concept can perform truck, bus and refuse collection roles

Seatbelt is one of

the world’s most

important safety

innovations

RIGHTVolvo

engineer Nils Bohlin

developed the three-

point belt in 1959