Building the truck of the future: Legislative timelines and safety design

Winston Churchill famously said: "The farther back you look, the further ahead you can see.”  

Having just recently reached a milestone birthday and in one way or another been around trucks all my life, it’s a privilege to be a key part of the product management team at Volvo Trucks for three decades, for a brand built on the values of safety and its key strapline: ‘driving progress.’  

During this time, change has been constant. However, the rate of change has stepped up due to many factors and while the profile of a new truck – for example, the Volvo FH launched in 1993 – over a typical twenty-year life span may externally look the same, product evolution will mean that there is very little common underneath, driven by technology, customer demand, production techniques and legislation.   

The 1960s boyhood sketches of the truck of the future are arguably more space age compared to those in production now.   

THE DRIVELINE 

In terms of air quality, the industry has made massive strides in reducing particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from Euro 1 in 1993 to Euro 6 in 2013. The change from Euro 5 to Euro 6 on its own saw an 80% reduction in NOx and 50% in PM.  This meant not only engine development – cab movements and chassis package demands to fit both selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and diesel particulate filters (DPF), and with further developments from step A to the current E on tighter on-board controls. All the above achieved, whilst trying to maintain and even improve fuel consumption.   

Now, we have a new regulatory target via VECTO (Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool) to control CO2 emissions. Using this tool, vehicle manufacturers must achieve a 15% reduction in CO2 by 2025 compared to the baseline of production set in 2019. There is no surprise that due to drag and rolling resistance there is a large focus on aerodynamics and low rolling resistance tyres, coupled with friction savings from the engine right across the driveline.  

The 2025 target is tough, but the good news is the changes are also delivering savings on fuel when the new technology has been adopted; our I-Save engines with turbo-compounding are breaking all the key fuel consumption records.    

The 2030 target has recently moved from a reduction in emissions of 30% to 45%, and to achieve this, alternative drivelines with zero tailpipe have the biggest part to play. Volvo Trucks has already taken the lead with a full range of medium and heavy duty trucks in the marketplace. There are many legal and operational challenges that have been fully documented elsewhere, however, they are trucks and the way we qualify and specify is no different to diesel, it just takes more time. We have transitioned before from coal to diesel, and more recently we have the learnings from diesel to liquefied natural gas (LNG) where the key to success was collaboration between operators, drivers, telematics, workshops, energy providers and legislators.   

Alongside the carbon reduction targets, we already have the end of sale dates confirmed by the UK government. Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans must end by 2030, and all new cars, vans and trucks of 26 tonnes and under must be zero emission by 2035, with 2040 a backstop for all new road vehicles. On paper, these dates are some time away, but realistically, in some cases, one or maybe two replacement cycles in the future, so legal pressure is there from all angles, but most operators are focused on doing what is right for the planet.   

What we need from government now is more positive support on ensuring the infrastructure on charging and the quality of the road network; not further regulation on zero emission mandates, the timeline is already in place.  

Electric power has been with us since the advent of the auto-industry; advances in technology and the drive for fossil free power is now shaping it.   

THE ROLE OF THE DRIVER 

The driver is legally in charge of the vehicle, with a very high level of automated support. This started in earnest in the 1980s with the introduction of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) which were mandated in the early 90s. Over the last three decades, this has evolved with the development of Controller Area Network (CAN bus), into a fully integrated network between the engine, gearbox, brakes, and auxiliary brakes – improving safety, comfort, vehicle efficiency and control.   

The development of transmissions from the two pedal I-Shift in 2001 has meant that Volvo heavy duty trucks have not offered a manual option since 2017 for any application including heavy haulage. The change to two pedal transmission communicating with the engine meant that engine braking could be optimised based on gear selection today. The whole system is supported by connectivity to telemetric maps to optimise the gear changes ahead based on gathered road data – giving predictive cruise control to support fleet efficiency.   

Automation along with driver training is a key way to reduce accidents. Advanced driver support systems are now required legally with electronic stability control, forward collision warning, emergency braking, and lane change support, as part of the General Safety Regulation (GSR) on two and three axle trucks.   
It is vitally important to explain to drivers what these systems can and cannot do; this is supported by an interactive online driver manual https://driverguide.volvotrucks.com. Simply enter the last seven digits of the vehicle identification number (VIN) for information.   

2024 GENERAL SAFETY   

There are additional regulations for all new trucks registered from 5 July 2024 in the EU to support the safety around vulnerable road users. The General Safety Regulations 2 (GSR2) mandates a moving off information system (MOIS) to the front, and blind spot information system (BSIS) to the side for pedestrian and cyclist protection.  The system also mandates a reversing camera, tyre pressure monitoring, alcohol lock preparation, emergency brake lights, driver alert and intelligent speed assist.   

This legislation is not retained as part of Brexit; the UK government is consulting on it now. If given the go ahead, the legal implementation date could be late 2024 by the time it gets through the legal process. This is a concern for EU-based vehicle manufacturers who, due to Brexit, are now working through a new GB type approval scheme. The UK now has a late mandate on key safety items. This could lead to further divergence of regulation across the EU, which increases administration and impacts on the offer, resulting in the same truck sold and marketed in Europe having to meet different GB based regulations, or not aligning to EU regulations for we have chosen not to adopt them.   

Add these into further scattered regulations in cities – for example, the London progressive safe scheme from October 2024 that will require trucks that have a direct vision rating of less than three stars to be equipped with moving off and blind spot support systems – and the administration for all is further increased.  

The concern with three-star direct vision – although important – is that it focuses on one area: the vision you can see 180 degrees to the front and side. In London, the traffic situation is so dynamic that you need systems to assess what is coming up the side as well.   
The Direct Vision Standard (DVS) and the safe system are confusing to some operators. With further development of GSR in this decade, there will be greater progress on target zero accidents with a fully holistic approach to road safety for all cities. Zero accidents in a truck is a tough call, given the human interface and the physics of large vehicles – however it targets focus and research to meet it.   

As highlighted earlier, it is important to explain how all these systems support the driver. We have a high level of automation, but the vehicles are not autonomous; the driver is in control. Autonomy is still being evaluated and in closed areas has much potential, where the driver role is repetitive such as a container port or building site. It will be interesting to see how these developments roll out in day-to-day operations, particularly in managing the loading and charging of the vehicle, where telematics and data arguably will have a bigger role in managing the vehicle than today.  

MODALITY – WEIGHTS AND DIMENSIONS 

Back in 1956, Malcolm McClean gave us the box that changed the world, with interchangeable modal units. Truck design transitioned due to this from rigid eight wheelers to the artic, which accounts for 50% of all trucks today. This fully supported the modal change for the truck, which has never been in competition with any transport mode; it has a key role in final collection and delivery.   
There has been some movement in modal shift on to rail. It will be interesting to see how this develops with the transition to electric vehicles, or how diesel with renewable biofuel could reduce their emission profile by being allowed to operate at higher weights as a longer heavier vehicle. A key concern for this energy transition is the current regulations around weights and dimensions. There is a concession on the overall payload carried to counter the driveline weight of two tonne. The issue is, how do you achieve this and maintain legal axle weights; the limiting factor on the payload is the unladen weight of the drive axle.  

NEW STARTS 

Working in the truck industry today is an interesting place. The industry is changing at a pace, and it is the perfect time and place to bring on new talent, in all areas of the business: drivers, technicians, engineers and logistic specialists. Post-COVID-19 it is vital that we nurture this available talent in a very competitive career market.   

It is also interesting to see after years of manufacture consolidation that there are new start up truck companies entering the arena, driving technology and different solutions. As they enter production it will be interesting to see how the business models adapt and change based on total cost of operation (TCO).    

There is always an area for new startups. When I was born, Volvo Trucks was not present in the UK truck market – which was the biggest truck producer in the world – arriving in 1967 they took the transitional opportunities available on weights and dimensions to take market leadership in tractor units by 1972. With the long-established strapline of driving progress, today we are making great progress with the electric transition.  

WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A CHANGE 

The important thing to remember is that none of us can do this on our own. The future solutions are all about working together; collaboration is the key.   

www.volvotrucks.com   

Published On: 14/09/2023 15:00:00

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