Scania focuses on fleet operators with the arrival of new prime movers equipped with latest safety specs
By Gary Worrall | August 3, 2010
The arrival of a pair of Scania G-Series 6×2 prime movers in full Australian specification is another sign the company is seriously chasing fleet operators.
Scania Australia Managing Director Roger McCarthy says the two G440 prime movers meet full Australian market requirements, including axle spacing and wheelbases, rather than being European-spec trucks delivered to Australia.
Each truck is configured in the popular steer-drive-lazy axle layout preferred for Australian conditions, rather than the twin-steer layout used on many European 6×2 prime movers.
McCarthy says the two demonstration trucks offer Australian operators optimum load carrying capability without the added weight of a bogie drive.
“We recognise there are some urban distribution applications where 6×4 drive is not needed, so we are offering in our G-Series cab in 6×2 format, as well as 6×4, for those operators that can best make use of that specification,” McCarthy says.
The two demonstration trucks also feature a mix of Scania’s latest safety innovations, including lane departure warning, electronic stability control and adaptive cruise control.
“One truck is fitted with stability control and adaptive cruise control, while the other has lane departure and adaptive cruise control, in addition to the standard suite of safety equipment, like the Scania Retarder.”
McCarthy says by fitting the technologies to separate trucks, operators can get a better appreciation of how the systems work rather than needing to wait for one in-demand truck fitted with the complete set of devices.
He says the lane departure control uses a camera mounted on the front of the dash to monitor the vehicle’s path between the white lines painted on the road 30 times per second.
“If the driver crosses the line markings an audible tone, like the noise of a tyre running over a rumble strip, plays through the radio speakers.”
The adaptive cruise system allows the driver to set a time gap between the truck and the vehicles ahead of it, with a choice of five time settings, with the driver receiving a warning if the distance closes suddenly.
“The system analyses road speed, data from the engine, Scania Retarder and wheel brakes to maintain the pre-set gap,” McCarthy says.
He says the system can never take full control of the truck to prevent the driver becoming over-confident and not paying proper attention.
The final technology is electronic stability program (ESP), which is designed to stabilise the truck when there is a high risk of skidding, overturning or jack-knifing.
“Basically the computers compare the truck’s actual path to its preferred one and if there is a major difference then the truck applies the wheel brakes as appropriate, reducing engine torque as much as necessary to get the vehicle back on track again.”
The ESP system consists of two sub-systems with different functions yaw control and roll-over protection, with yaw control looking out for slippery, low-friction surfaces and activating the brakes on individual wheels to bring the truck back under control.
Roll over protection prevents the truck from falling over in case of high lateral acceleration.