‘@MATS: Disc brakes, anti-crash prod market growing: Bendix

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s taking a while, but air disc brakes and collision reduction technologies like adaptive cruise control and electronic stability are slowly starting to break into the mainstream of the trucking industry.

At the Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville, Walt Frankiewicz, president of Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake, said the company is opening a new production line at its Bowling Green, Ky. plant to meet increased demand for its ADB22X air disc brakes.

Spurred on by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s stop distance rule (set for August 2011), the demand for discs jumped nearly 120 percent in 2010 from the year before and is expected to increase another 60 percent this year, Frankiewicz said.

While larger, high-performance drum brakes remain the go-to option for meeting the new brake standard, interest for discs from customers is increasing more than ever as costs come down and the benefits are communicated throughout the industry.

<< Bendix CEO Joe McAleese talks about minimal supply chain impacts due to the Japanese tsunami>>

 

(At a subsequent press conference, Peterbilt announced that Bendix disc brakes will soon be standard on the front axle across its entire class 8 lineup).

Meanwhile, automatic braking and stability systems –once thought to be fantastical technologies for the average fleet as well – are also gaining in popularity.

In announcing its new Wingman Advanced adaptive cruise and braking technology at MATS, the company said there’s no doubt fleets are recognizing the safety benefits and increases ROI.

Market penetration of the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), for example, is at 13 percent – the highest it’s ever been and relatively higher than 10-percent of the market from 2010.

Should NHTSA introduce a rollover stability mandate (as it’s currently considering), expect that number to jump significantly.

"2010 was a record-setting year for Bendix ESP in North America," said Fred Andersky, director of marketing, Controls. "Not only did penetration increase, but we had our highest year of unit sales and met a major milestone — exceeding 100,000 Bendix ESP units delivered since its introduction in early 2005."

The Wingman Advanced, which incorporates warnings and braking assistance to help drivers mitigate rear-end collisions and avoid objects on the road, provides additional interventions, whether or not cruise control is active, by alerting the driver and automatically applying the brakes to help decelerate the vehicle when the system senses a collision may be imminent.

However, for stationary objects the system now only provides audible warnings and will not decelerate upon approaching a metallic stationary object.

When coupled with ESP, the Wingman Advanced utilizes the available brakes to help slow the vehicle to potentially avoid a collision.

"Roll-only systems typically do not apply steer axle brakes, and a collision mitigation system built on roll-only technology may rely heavily on one set of brakes, resulting in an uneven braking distribution," the company states. "By building on a full-stability platform, all brakes –steer, drive, and trailer — are available and can be controlled as necessary to provide maximum braking power and a more even braking distribution."

Bendix currently is working with International, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo, Mack and Prevost to determine the timing on the release of the Wingman Advanced.

Andersky told truck writers how many drivers approach him during trade shows, asking whether the point of such systems is to take decisions away from skillful drivers.

Nothing could be further from the truth, he says. "Active safety technologies do not replace the need for alert, safe drivers practicing safe driving habits, as well as continuous, comprehensive driver training," Andersky noted. "The importance of skilled, alert drivers is still essential to a fleet’s entire safety equation and should not be underestimated with the advent of active safety technologies."

Promo video of ESP:

 


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