The global economy is cyclical, but this has little impact on the steady pace of urbanisation and city expansion, which in turn impacts mobility. Increasing congestion, especially on highways and city roads, increases the potential for traffic incidents. As a result, the truck industry’s safety focus has turned to the development of safety systems that aid drivers in anticipation or avoidance of critical events or hazards.
Among fleets, safety and collision avoidance have become high priorities worldwide. Fleets have begun to adopt strategies to reduce crash-related costs through installation of OEM and aftermarket safety systems. From a business standpoint, fleets are looking to optimise operations through vehicle maintenance and operating cost savings such as fuel, life cycle management, and vehicle up-time. In a challenging environment of stringent government regulations and decreasing profit margins, the focus for the commercial vehicle industry has shifted to adapt to these mounting challenges. The installation of safety systems can offer multiple cost-saving benefits by helping to reduce crashes and potential liabilities.
In order to incorporate safety systems in trucks, fleets are looking at several factors such as regulation, initial investment, performance, and return on investment (ROI). Furthermore, in an era of skilled driver shortage, improved safe driving practices, reduced driver distraction, increased ability of driver assistance systems to take preventive measures, and improved driver retention are also being increasingly considered when purchasing safety technologies. Regulations such as the US Compliance, Safety and Accountability 2010 (CSA 2010) are forcing fleets to concentrate on enhancing safe driving practices and integrating trucks with advanced safety systems; fleet managers are also demanding systems that not only provide warnings, but also intervene as driver distraction increasingly becomes a major concern.
Cost-conscious fleet owners are compelling truck manufacturers and suppliers to focus on delivering cost-competitive safety systems that provide multiple safety benefits. Integrated safety systems, which offer stability control systems in addition to collision mitigation systems, are increasingly being preferred in developed markets such as North America and Europe. Moreover, bundling technologies reduces the complexity of systems for fleets and drivers, while also increasing the ROI factor through the reduction in distribution costs. Advances in sensor and radar technologies are facilitating the sharing of system components and driving the growth of integrated safety systems in such markets. In addition to a shared platform for different technologies, integration will result in sensor fusion and sharing, while also augmenting the growth of V2V and V2I data connectivity in trucks. Systems in use today, such as adaptive cruise control, already enable fuel savings; V2V and V2I communication in trucks should further increase savings potential.
Unlike emission regulations, there is a wide disparity in standards for safety systems in various parts of the world. In North America, there is a greater likelihood of stability control mandates in Class 8 trucks. As a result, these forthcoming mandates in favour of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems, which enhance vehicle stabilisation, are expected to drive ESC as a standalone system in the region. By 2020, forward collision avoidance (FCA) mandates are expected in North America, which will drive the growth of collision mitigation and integrated safety systems. Demand for active chassis controls systems such as ESC will be boosted by developments in individual technologies and growing awareness toward the effectiveness of these technologies. In Europe, regulatory mandates are in place for certain technologies, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems for commercial vehicles. Both AEB and LDW will become mandatory for all new vehicles from November 2015, providing a strong incentive to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to invest in additional functional technologies to assist autonomous driving. To reduce collision rates in North America and Europe, there are discussions and deliberations of regulations for backup cameras around the 2019 to 2021 period. The TRIAD markets have witnessed an increase in demand for tyre pressure-related systems, owing to the value proposition offered in terms of crash avoidance and fuel savings. With growing acceptance by government bodies and the global trucking industry, the developed markets are likely to experience a proliferation of collision mitigation systems that would involve the integration of stability control, vision-based systems and active braking systems.
While developed countries are turning their attention toward advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), developing markets are reliant on braking systems for safety. Antilock braking systems and stability control systems have yet to gain significant penetration in developing countries such as China, India, Russia and the Next 11 nations, owing to low awareness of the systems. Stricter regulations are expected, especially in China and India, which will significantly influence the truck industry in the rest of the world. The difference in enforcement of regulations across various regions of the world is an impediment to speedier adoption of systems such as ABS and ESC in developing markets. Furthermore, the rising disparity is also leading to inflated system cost increments in such regions.
Besides active safety systems, video safety solutions have recently gained significance in the commercial vehicle markets of North America and Europe. Video safety solutions provide far-reaching safety across drivers, fleets, and cargo by proactively enforcing regulatory compliance, while effectively managing driver performance. Backed by video evidence, a video safety solution acts as a line of defence for drivers in case of faulty impounds or liability issues, and reduces insurance costs for the fleet. A few aftermarket vendors offer a four-camera solution that records a 360-degree view of the truck; this integrates the existing video safety solution into a surveillance solution that provides a comprehensive package, ensuring complete driver and fleet safety. Currently, the most prevalent solution is a two-channel module that deploys a forward-facing camera positioned to capture the driver’s view of the road and a driver-facing camera that records the cabin area to monitor driver distraction. In the mid-term and long-term, four-channel and six-channel modules are expected to be in demand, catering to specific applications like local distribution, oil and gas, waste, and transit. While video safety aftermarket solution providers currently dominate the scene, the market is expected to be fragmented by vendors providing safety systems and telematics, with OEMs expected to introduce such systems around 2020.
There has been a gradual shift in the purchase decisions related to safety systems by fleet owners across the world. The increasing importance that fleets in developed markets are attaching to supplier support and responsiveness is an opportunity that should be leveraged to support customers through the delivery of actionable data for downstream analysis, driver training, and other potential revenue growth opportunities. With rising adoption of integrated safety systems in these markets and fleets focusing on feature sets provided by suppliers, effective packaging of safety systems is necessary to reduce the complexity for drivers, in addition to providing cost-effective solutions to fleets.
Tier 1 safety system suppliers will stand to gain from sensor fusion and sharing to bundle multiple safety systems, and rapid adoption of such technologies in the developed markets. This will require advanced technology vendors to invest in electronic data interfaces and OEMs to enable multiplexed electronic architecture in vehicles. In developing markets, strict enforcement of regulations would be the driving force behind adoption of advanced safety systems. Adoption of integrated safety systems is expected to rise much later, owing to the nascent stage of the safety systems industry in these markets.
Fleet managers globally will show high interest in systems that not only offer the usual benefits, but also result in operating cost reduction, process optimisation, driver and technician training, amongst others. This is reason alone for global OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to develop localised growth strategies to benefit from opportunities offered by all markets.
