DISTRIBUTION has taken the issue of CV
wheel safety to the European
Parliament, with calls for wheels to be
regarded as safety critical items.
also a Director of the Northwest
Automotive Alliance, presented the
European Committee on Transport and
Tourism with a background to the issue,
and called for five measures, most
prominently the light regulation of the
supply chain to enforce existing
standards and improved inspection
procedures across all EU member states.
identified as safety critical, that all
wheels and axles be tested to meet
European Tyre and Rim Technical
Organisation standards and that all
wheels periodically undertake an
industry leading 10-point check plan.
on wheel fatigue which included
evidence from Wheels India that found
that non-circumferential hubs, which
give only partial contact between axle
and wheel, are causing untested load
stresses which cause cracks and half life
expectancy.
of knowledge in the CV sector which
means wheels are not being replaced
when they are fatigued, or worse still
are being replaced with inferior
tested, and this includes both the wheel
and the hub.
equipment manufacturers find and
address major issues, such as hub shape,
but then fail to disseminate the
information to the aftermarket. Specific
wheels exist for non-circumferential
hubs, but when this wheel is replaced or
interchanged if an identical wheel is not
used we have an item that will start to
crack and fatigue at under 50,000km
and will stay in the supply chain.
designed to place extra financial burden
on the commercial vehicle sector, but
they will create a far cleaner, far safer
sector that will recognise wheels as the
safety critical item they truly are."
recommendations was expected to be
made as Downstream went to press.
into question
version of its I-See system that saves fuel
in the new Volvo FH when driving in
hilly terrain. The new version remotely
obtains up-to-date information about
the road's topography from a central
server, so all trucks with I-See access the
same fuel-saving information.
on a particular hill even once it will still
be able to reap the full benefit of the
someone else with I-See has covered
that same stretch of road," says Christer
Pehrsson (right), Volvo Business Area
Manager for Long-Haul Operations.
takes care of gear selection, acceleration
and engine braking on hills in the most
fuel-efficient way possible. The fuel
saving for long-haul operators may be as
much as five per cent.
delivery vehicle? A vigilant
Downstream reader noticed this taxi
driver with an interesting sideline...
his back window was offering free
delivery of 20 litre drums of home
heating oil, tipped into your tank!
fuel deliveries to difficult sites
(below) look positively gigantic! At
FPS EXPO 2013, Alpeco are due to
show a small demountable electric
pump and meter system designed
for making such deliveries.