New Zealand’s Volvo trucks distributor is bringing a leading safety and braking technology innovation to the local market as standard equipment on new FH and FH16 truck models.
Volvo’s ‘stretch brake’ system will become standard on all 8×4 rigid models sold in New Zealand from early 2014.
Motor Trucks Distributors (NZ) Limited, Volvo trucks’ NZ importer, tells DIESELtalk that the system: “Further enhances safety for heavy truck and trailer combinations; where in certain conditions a heavy trailer can cause a jack-knife effect.”
Volvo’s ‘stretch brake’ utilises the truck’s computer-controlled braking system to detect any loss of control ahead of a driver’s ability to react to it.
The new system applies braking to the required wheels with precisely the right amount of force to straighten out the truck and trailer combination, averting potential accidents, injuries and worse.
Volvo trucks national sales manager for New Zealand, Clive Jones, says the new stretch brake will provide: “A valuable, additional safety buffer for Volvo drivers; especially in situations where, in the past, drivers may have used a trailer hand-control brake.”
Says Jones: “The new ‘stretch brake’ will provide trailer braking, without driver intervention, once activated. This will keep the combination straight, even under heavy engine braking.”
The system also enables the truck to maintain steering control on loose, slippery surfaces and on windy roads. “With bigger and longer trailers now common, this new system will be hugely beneficial,” says Jones.
Jones says New Zealand’s predominantly rigid truck and trailer market will benefit greatly from ‘stretch brake’. “This innovation will provide a very real safety benefit to our customers and drivers, especially under New Zealand’s operating conditions.”
The first of the new FH model trucks will arrive in New Zealand during early 2014 with the system set to become standard across the FM models late in 2014.
A video in-depth look at the new truck can seen on youtube HERE
