Thriving On Safe Driving
Volvo’s FH 2007 anniversary model was offered with an interesting duo of new safety features as standard. John Henderson takes to the M6 in Lancashire on a busy Friday afternoon for a test of the Swedish manufacturer’s latest innovations for keeping a safe distance, whilst on the straight and narrow. IT’S FAIR to say the good people at Volvo Trucks UK were keen to show off the latest safety features on the anniversary FH model, as just one week after admiring the shining truck on their CV Show stand, I was behind the wheel of this 480hp tractor unit in the midst of a typical Friday afternoon, multi lane rush on the M6. Naturally an evaluation in this neck of the woods was not about breaking any fuel consumption return records, but rather to try Volvo’s two driver safety assistance aids which are known as Lane Keeping Support and Adaptive Cruise Control. Both of these features incorporate smart technology and are standard equipment of the special 80th anniversary FH series. This type of Euro 5 tractor is no stranger to me, as back in Transport News’ November 2007 issue, I ran a similar example around our Scottish test route which performed superbly. I met Rod Collett, my Volvo guardian for the afternoon run in the Lancashire town of Leyland, a place which for many decades has been synonymous with truck manufacture and assembly. I’ve been fortunate to drive quite a few Volvos in the last few years and every one has been a positive experience. Climbing aboard the anniversary FH Globetrotter XL gave the feeling of returning to your favourite hotel room, except in this case it’s had a makeover with some plush extra touches to celebrate this maker’s 80 years in business! Leather seats with circular logos on the backs, similarly badged fitted carpets and distinctively liveried upholstery all give this cab a special, limited edition type look. Some drivers may feel it’s all a bit bright, but I liked these cheery extra touches and was impressed with their great quality and fit, all of which was typically Volvo. Moving off into the traffic in this Lancashire town’s nose to tail queues, the first thing I noticed and indeed appreciated were the redesigned rear view mirrors which are a tremendous improvement over the previous units. General all round vision is much better and approaches to junctions and roundabouts require much less movement of the neck and head. As usual the fine control offered by Volvo’s I-shift gearbox and superbly set up steering and brakes made short work of all the delicate manoeuvring required with our fully loaded Gray & Adams triaxle trailer, on the way out of the built up area en route to the M6 motorway. After a few minutes to familiarise myself with the pace and levels of traffic, I first put the Land Keeping Support (LKS) to test and measured its capabilities. LKS is a drive support system with the task of alerting the driver to any unintentional deviation from the driving lane. Volvo anticipates that the system’s main application area will be on long distance journeys when monotonous environments are prevalent. In these types of situations unintentional deviations from the lane can sometimes result in driving off the road and serious accidents. The usual cause of these offs can include the effects of tiredness, abstraction or lack of focus. So with the system enabled, on the occasion of a lane deviation an audible warning blast from the instrument panel is sent out to turn the driver’s attention to the road. LKS also works on narrower roads but will naturally give warnings more frequently as the truck will cross the markings more, due to the small distance between the motor and the paint markings. So that’s the theory, but what’s it like in practice? I selected the rocker switch whilst cruising at 56mph and an indication in the main instrument cluster confirmed its engagement. Sitting in lane one, drifting right into the middle line was initially not the safe option, so I selected a straight piece of road with a visibly clear hard shoulder and began to let the truck move to the nearside gently. After barely two seconds and before my left front tyre had touched the rumble strip, I was alerted with the warning siren which seemed to emit from just above eye level and certainly would have brought me ‘round’ if I was drifting off! I got the chance to repeat this exercise several times and keeping an eye on the mirrors, a few edges towards the centre lane when clear, all brought in the same, efficient warning. The system only operates above 60km/h and to me is an excellent back up for any driver. Smart sensors within the software will cancel the warning if the indicators have been used recently (for genuine overtakes and return to lanes etc) or when the brake pedal has just been pushed. The main parts of the LKS system are a digital video camera, a video processor and a control unit. The road markings are continuously filmed by the camera and the information is handled in the processor. The data received is then analysed by the unit which is connected with other systems and functions such as speed, braking signals and direction indicators via the vehicle’s electrical system. When certain criteria are fulfilled showing that the truck is deviating from the driving lane, the control unit sends out the warning signal. LKS works with road markings according to European standard. It needs a certain quality on the drive lane lines, but the camera has a high light sensitivity and observes the road markings at the same time as the driver. In darkness the lines illuminate from the vehicles head/spot lamps and are easily recognised by the camera. During bad visibility such as snow, heavy rain and fog, an indication in the cluster shows if the set up is unable to read the environment. Fitment of the system causes minimal in-cab intrusion with only the small camera visible at the top centre of the windscreen. The video processor is mounted in the radio shelf, with the control unit positioned in the space behind the passenger seat. LKS is a valuable ally on the road and in my opinion, it will probably become a standard device in the future, such is its capabilities. So after a safe and lane disciplined run south it was time to turn around at the next available junction and head back north again, trialling the next high tech feature. CRUISING ALONG Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is an extension of the usual cruise control that allows automatic speed and distance adjustment, based on the vehicle in front of the truck. Volvo advises that the system should be regarded as a comfort and safety feature which further enhances productivity, particularly for long haul transport and does not replace the driver who still has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that a safe distance is kept from the motor ahead! ACC makes it easy to follow the rhythm of surrounding traffic and enables the driver to select the time interval to other vehicles that are in front of his or her truck. This gap is then maintained as ACC automatically regulates throttle pressure and braking functions. Best used in open road conditions, the feature should be avoided when in heavy traffic or in long downhill inclines when catching up slower moving vehicles. This cruise control add-on is based on advanced Doppler radar and has the capacity to detect moving objects up to approximately 150 metres away. The radar is not affected by rain, fog or darkness, however in extreme weather conditions the device may become blocked by snow or ice and the driver is then alerted by a fault code in the display. Mounted just inboard of the nearside headlamp cluster, the sensor will have to be kept clean to permit maximum usage and I would think that if you incorporate it into the regular lens cleansing disciplines, then it should give minimal issues. Heading back up the M6 I set up the parameters for using the ACC which are almost the same for normal cruise controls. With the engine retarder set on automatic, with the (A) display showing, I engaged the cruise control switch located, on the Volvo left hand steering stalk as usual. When set at the desired speed the ACC display will light up on the dash display confirming its engagement and then the distance gap can be increased or decreased using the forward and back roll switch just left of the ‘Resume’ lettering. The time gap is pictorially displayed on the main display which features a car and lorry with up to five horizontal lines between them. From my experience, one line roughly equals one 44 ton maximum vehicle length and so on. This distance can be adjusted at any time to suit the conditions etc and the ACC can be manually switched off at the stalk, or it will cut automatically when the brake pedal is pressed or the retarder stalk is moved out of the (A) position. Sods law came into force during the first few minutes of the run back, where initially we caught no vehicles, but for once my eyes lit up when I spotted a gaggle of caravan pulling cars ahead, no doubt heading for a weekend in the Lake District. Making sure my cruise control was set on the 56mph limiter, I set to catching the white procession to see if the ACC would prevent me getting too close a look at their club rally badges on the back window! Feeling a bit like Mad Max, for the purposes of the test only, of course, I bore down on the wee convoy like a man possessed and initially felt some mild disappointment as the ACC kicked in, dropping a gear and bringing on the engine brake to keep me a safe three truck lengths from the back marker! If I’d caught a vehicle that was travelling incredibly slowly, a collision warning alert would have occurred, which brings on all the red warning LEDs in the speedometer circumference, whilst sounding an audible alarm requesting urgent use of the foot brake! Once past the holidaymakers, I set my next sights on some slow moving trucks with the distance gap adjusted to just one horizontal line and sure enough my steed eased off and pulled back when we reached approximately one artic’s length from them. ACC usage does not impact on fuel consumption, but in fact enables an altogether smoother driving style and certainly to my mind would be of great benefit on any motorway which is busy, but moving well, just like the M6 on the afternoon of our trial. The development of electronic driver safety assistants like Volvo’s LKS and ACC are to be applauded as the daily driving conditions on our congested roads are certainly not improving. Having been initially mildly sceptical, I would now thoroughly recommend the use of both these features, as they’re literally as good as an extra pair of eyes. These systems should not be viewed as taking over from the person at the wheel, but rather as a reliable back up source of information that helps you thrive on the drive! I am sure we’ll see more and more of cutting edge complementary devices like this in the near future. Lane Keeping Support and Active Cruise Control were standard fitments on the 2007 anniversary model and can be specified on any new Volvo at prices of £921 and £2,132 respectively.