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Driver / People ManagementDon-Bur has entered the lifting-deck refrigerated semi-trailer market for the first time with a 44-pallet 13.6m tri-axle promoted under the Polar-Bur banner, reports Steve Banner
Temperature Controlled VehiclesDrivers of IVECO’s revised Daily van and S-Way HGV will be able to call on Alexa for help and advice thanks to a tie-up between the van and truck manufacturer and Amazon Web Services, reports Steve Banner
Light Commercial VehiclesMy career began as an apprentice HGV technician with a general haulage company; I remained a technician in road transport engineering for 16 years. My first supervisory role came not long after I had served out my apprenticeship, and from there, I gained promotions through to becoming head of fleet.
Driver / People ManagementAutomatic slack adjusters (also known as automatic brake adjusters, ASAs or ABAs) are an essential part of a drum brake assembly, compensating drum brake wear over time. But they can’t work if they are not installed correctly, reports Toby Clark
Brakes & Braking SystemsAccording to accident research conducted in 2018, by Bosch, up to 34% of all accidents caused by heavy commercial vehicles could be avoided with advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS). Peter Shakespeare provides an update about the current state of the art
Road SafetyLane departure warning systems (LDWS) have been mandatory in trucks of 7.5t gvw and over since 2015. But in April this year automated lane keeping systems were legalised for UK passenger cars. And they are coming to heavier vehicles too, as Lucy Radley experienced first-hand
Steering SystemsDriver airbags equipped with non-desiccated ammonium-nitrate airbag inflators in certain climatic circumstances could over time develop a chemical alteration of the propellant. Remedy: replace the driver’s airbag in potentially affected vehicles. Number affected: 2,907 and 90, respectively. Manufacturer reference: SRL2104 TAKA-SDI and SRL2105 TAKA-DIODE, respectively. Vehicle IDs: not given.
Recalls
On certain front-wheel-drive vehicles equipped with an additional traction battery, the attachment bolts on the frame of this high voltage battery could be loose. Remedy:
tighten the screwing of the high voltage battery module on the affected vehicles according to the respective specification. Number affected: 507. Manufacturer reference: SRV2111. Vehicle IDs: W1V9106332P001881 to W1V9106332P282762
Possible thermal escalation in cab heater due to relay failure. Remedy: replacement of the power relays for cooling heater. Number affected: 1. Manufacturer reference: C0178. Vehicle ID: YV2TB40AXLZ131076
RecallsNovel, and mostly unproven, drivelines are making headlines, but development of diesel engines continues to meet a variety of environmental, legislative, and economic considerations. Fuel injection is key here, as Richard Simpson reports
Engine/Transmission Management