Australia’s political parties should commit to mandating stability control for new model trucks and trailers by 2019 to improve industry safety, the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Trucking Association, Christopher Melham, said today.
Mr Melham was releasing the ATA’s newly-updated technical advisory procedure on truck Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Roll Stability Control (RSC) technology.
“Electronic Stability Control is a vehicle safety system that monitors the stability and sideways acceleration of a heavy vehicle, and kicks in to slow the vehicle down if it detects that it is at risk of a rollover,” Mr Melham said.
“ESC is an outstanding safety tool. According to the Monash University Accident Research Centre, the mandated use of ESC in heavy vehicles could reduce fatal heavy vehicle crashes by four per cent.
“But more than that, mandating stability control is an essential step that Australia must take before we can require autonomous emergency braking technologies – that is, vehicles that automatically stop themselves before a serious accident occurs.
“It’s estimated that the use of autonomous emergency braking could reduce fatal heavy vehicle crashes by as much as 25 per cent. This could save the lives of 67 Australians every year if this technology was fitted across the whole fleet.
“The ATA calls on Australia’s political parties to commit to mandating stability control technologies for new model trucks and trailers from 2019, and for new trucks and trailers from 2020.
“There would need to be appropriate exemptions for trucks operating in rural and regional areas, where the demanding operating conditions can cause maintenance issues for the technology, and for particular combinations where the effectiveness of ESC is limited.
“Unlike the unproven claims linking price fixing and road safety, there is compelling evidence that mandating stability control will save lives, and opens the way to saving even more lives in the future.
“Mandating stability control would be a real, practical measure to improve the safety of the trucking industry and all Australians.
“The industry’s safety record has dramatically improved, but even one accident is one too many. In this campaign, the ATA is calling on political parties and candidates to support the implementation of practical measures to improve road safety.”
The ATA’s updated technical advisory procedure is available at http://www.truck.net.au/resource-library/stability-control-technical-advisory-procedure.
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STABILITY CONTROL: THE FACTS
What is stability control?
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is a term for any system that acts automatically to prevent loss-of-control movements on a powered truck by slowing the vehicle when dangerous movements are detected. ESC systems include both roll control and yaw control systems, and can correct potential oversteer, understeer and roll-over situations.
Roll control systems sense the lateral (sideways) acceleration of a vehicle, and will act to reduce the risk of rollover through reducing engine torque and briefly applying selected brakes.
Yaw control allows the driver to point the vehicle in the desired direction, with the brakes operating to assist the driver.
ESC is the most capable stability control system available, but can only be fitted to powered units such as prime movers. Often, the driver may not be aware that the system has activated.
A similar system, Roll Stability Control (RSC), can be fitted to trailers and also provides significant safety benefits. RSC provides roll control in a similar manner to ESC above, but does not include yaw control.
Both ESC and RSC function as an active safety system to allow a driver to maintain control of their vehicle with the aim of avoiding or reducing the impact of a rollover. Stability control systems will not prevent all rollover crashes, but will significantly reduce their likelihood.
The safety benefits
The Monash University Accident Research Centre1 estimates that mandating the fitment of ESC in all heavy vehicles would reduce fatal heavy vehicle crashes by 4 per cent. It is also predicted to reduce serious injury crashes involving heavy vehicles by 7 per cent.
ESC is a foundation technology required before the industry can move into using and mandating Automated Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS). These systems use additional sensors to monitor the proximity of other vehicles, and automatically apply emergency braking if a collision is imminent.
If mandated, the Monash University Accident Research Centre estimates AEBS could prevent up to 25 per cent of fatal heavy vehicle crashes, and up to 17 per cent of serious injury crashes. Minor injuries would actually increase slightly as higher-level crashes are reduced in severity.
In real terms, AEBS would save the lives of 67 Australian road users annually if the technology was fitted across the whole fleet.
What are the issues with mandating ESC?
ESC is a well-established technology. However, there are still issues that need to be finalised before it can become mandated for all new trucks, including how to handle voltage incompatibilities between trucks and trailers.
What is the ATA doing?
The Australian Trucking Association released the second edition of its technical advisory procedure on ESC and RSC systems for trucks and trailers in May 2016. This document was developed and updated by the ATA’s Industry Technical Council.
The ATA is also activity working with other industry players on the development of a guide to braking and stability performance for heavy vehicle combinations. This guide is intended to improve the understanding of the compatibility of different braking technologies within combinations.
[1] Budd, Laurie and Newstead, Stuart. Potential Safety Benefits of Emerging Crash Avoidance Technologies in Australasian Heavy Vehicles. September 2014. Monash University Accident Research Centre. Accessed at: http://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/216489/muarc324.pdf.
