Print

Print


Dear Ale and all,

In the Nordic countries, we have noticed that tractor-trailer combinations are more accidentally affected than rigid truck + drawbar trailer combinations.
This is particularly noticeable on low friction road conditions. 
The problem can be illustrated by the “Gamleby bridge crash”, which involved a B-double (= link) on thin ice, see attached picture.

Data from f.x. Australia presented at HVTT14 (Hassall et al) support our findings also on less slippery road surface conditions than icy roads.

Central Europe is staring blind to accessibility (=short tractor units instead of long tractors) and overrides safety. 
Safest vehicle combination is always one where the pulling unit is very heavy, i.e. a conventional truck with load in front of the trailer/trailers. 
If it has to be a tractor + semi-trailer combination, it is essential that the length limiting regulation allows tractors with a long wheelbase. 
The long wheelbase allows the steering front wheels to determine over the friction in the fifth-wheel joint. 
On low road friction surfaces, such as wet slick asphalt or ice slippery roads, this is of outermost importance.

Read our paper "TRAFFIC SAFETY RISKS WITH EU TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER RIGS ON SLIPPERY ROADS" presented at HVTT14: http://road-transport-technology.org//Proceedings/HVTT%2014//Granlund%20-%20Traffic%20safety%20risks%20with%20EU%20tractor-semitrailer%20rigs%20on%20slippery%20roads.pdf 

Furthermore, the European Union lacks a proper regulation on the distribution of load within the vehicle combination, aiming to prevent absurd vehicle combinations being used in traffic. 

Norway is a country with extremely mountainous road network, with harsh winter climate.
Similar to Sweden and Finland, Norway has a sparse population in relation to road network size, resulting in limited resources for managing road slipperiness.
Being a non-EU member state, Norway has a national regulation with the above aim.
EU should seek to adopt this regulation.
It is proven efficient for safety on icy roads, and is relevant also for safety on better road conditions. 
Here is a non-official translation to English from Norwegian of the efficient "1,5 factor paragraph": 
“-A motor vehicle with maximum total weight exceeding 3500 kg and designed for speeds above 30 km/h is not allowed to pull trailers with current axle load / axle group load which together is heavier than 1.5 times the pulling vehicles current gross vehicle weight.” 
Reference: Norwegian Regulation on use of vehicles (Norwegian title: Forskrift om bruk av kjøretøy, 1990), Chapter 5, §4-2.4.a https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/1990-01-25-92#KAPITTEL_5 

Best Regards
Johan Granlund (WSP Sweden AB) and Per Thomson (Thomson Konsult AB, Sweden)


-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: Technical, operational and economic aspects of road freight transportation [mailto:[log in to unmask]] För Alejandra Efron
Skickat: den 1 juli 2017 03:02
Till: [log in to unmask]
Ämne: Reports of B-double and other HCV safety performance

Hi all, 
almost ready to launch in Argentina as a whole, I need your help asap to counterattack those who still state B-doubles are unsafe because of their length. 

I need a few reports like the one from Australian NTI, where it shows exactly the opposite, and actually states that the B-doubles continue to be the best performer from a loss and safety perspective (page 20 of the last report)

It can be any HCV and the bigger the better actually. and the more visual the better as well.
Thanks 
Ale

       ***********************************************************
       The ROAD-TRANSPORT-TECHNOLOGY mailing list is published by
            International Forum for Road Transport Technology
                                    
                    www.road-transport-technology.org
                                    
       ***********************************************************

       ***********************************************************
       The ROAD-TRANSPORT-TECHNOLOGY mailing list is published by
            International Forum for Road Transport Technology
                                    
                    www.road-transport-technology.org
                                    
       ***********************************************************