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New trucks without side mirrors increase safety
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve road safety, three new trucks have been delivered without physical side mirrors
Our fleet manager Palle Albertsen had no doubts when he first had the opportunity to try a truck without mirrors on the side of the cab.
"It was in Spain, driving around mountain roads and cities. And it was clear that this would be a huge benefit for the drivers," he says.
Instead of traditional side mirrors, the new tractor units are equipped with cameras above the doors that film down the sides of the truck. Inside the cab, the images are displayed on two large monitors that stand upright in front of the A-pillars on either side of the cab.
This provides three major benefits
Firstly, the camera follows the truck as it turns, so the driver always sees the rear of the trailer in the center of the image. With a traditional mirror, the driver instead looks into the side of the trailer when the truck turns. This means that the risk of one of the most common accidents associated with truck transportation - the dreaded right turn accidents - is significantly reduced.
Secondly, the cameras switch to wide-angle when the driver needs to reverse. This, together with the adjustable guide lines on the screen, provides a great aid to maneuvering.
Thirdly, it removes much of the blind spot by eliminating the need for mirrors on the side of the car. This means much better visibility for the driver at intersections, pedestrian crossings and roundabouts, reducing the risk of collisions with cross traffic.
Worth the extra cost
The technology behind digital side mirrors has been around for some time, but the ability to type-approve trucks with the technology only came later. With the authorities' approval in place, there was no doubt that it was an important tick on the list of options when we took delivery of three new vehicles immediately after the turn of the year as part of the ongoing fleet replacement.
"It's not equipment you get as a gift, but for a company like ours, it's a natural step to take," says Palle Albertsen.
He refers to H. Daugaard's ongoing efforts to make the roads a safe place to travel. This includes faithful participation in the annual Truck Caravan, where primary school students have the opportunity to get into the cab and see for themselves how difficult it can be to spot a cyclist on the right side of the cab.
This is also true in an area such as lashing goods, where the wording in the Danish Road Traffic Act is relatively vague.
"We basically follow the EU's more specific loading instructions, and for the goods we transport a lot, we make our own loading instructions," says Palle Albertsen and continues:
"We may spend half an hour lashing the goods before we leave, and that may cost us a little on the bottom line - but it's better than risking accidents that could otherwise have been avoided."
Coming to more cars
Although the average age of all our rolling stock is now down to 2.5 years and all trucks meet the Euro 6 standard, the ongoing replacement of the fleet continues. Later this year, some of the trucks in our Czech subsidiary Dauczech, which handles H. Daugaard's international transportation.
Here, the digital side mirrors are part of the negotiations with the supplier that are currently taking place. So is an active right-turn assistant, which uses radar to detect vulnerable road users and brakes the truck if there is a risk of collision.
"Unfortunately, it's not possible to get the active right-turn assistant for the three-axle tractors that we need in Denmark. But I hope it will come soon," says Palle Albertsen.
