The project known as euroFOT (European Field Operational Test) is a EU project in which a total of 28 European companies and organisations are participating.
The aim is to collect information on the way truck drivers behave in different traffic situations and how the safety systems in their trucks can help them. The British haulage company DHL Tradeteam and the Dutch company Nijhof-Wassink have installed cameras in a total of 30 of their trucks. Each truck contains a total of five video cameras that follow every movement the driver makes and show how the drivers react to sudden braking, vehicles that appear out of nowhere or other changes in the traffic.
These trucks will be participating in the project for one year and they are expected to collect a total of 70,000 hours of data.
According to Carl Johan Almqvist, head of traffic and product safety at Volvo Trucks, an analysis of eye movements, for example, can provide important information about the things that distract drivers.
“This gives us an opportunity to evaluate the benefit of accident-prevention systems and develop new systems in the future,” he says.
The trucks that are taking parting the test will be equipped with a range of Volvo Trucks’ safety systems, including cruise control with radar that maintains a safe distance, a system that warns the driver when he crosses lane markings, a system that alerts tired drivers and a system that prevents roll-overs.
You can read more about euroFOT at: www.eurofot-ip.eu
Caption: Carl Johan Almqvist, head of traffic and product safety at Volvo Trucks