The automatic snow chains are genius when you encounter adverse road conditions in the colder seasons. With just a flip of a switch you have instant traction added so that you can get up in speed or if you need to stop, you get improved breaking power.
But what about the rest of the year, when you are not in the winter season? In the middle of the summer or in the autumn?
For most drivers, the road is rather a workplace than a source for relaxing experiences. Out of the world’s circa 18 million kilometres of paved roads, most are just transport roads offering nothing but insignificant surroundings. However, some drives offer such breath-taking sceneries, that many find a worthwhile trip for their own sake. What routes are the most scenic in the world is, of course, a matter of personal preferences, but here’s my pick of routes I’d like to drive for the scenery.
The need for transports is constantly increasing in our society. It can be products on the way to the stores, parts on the way to a factory, waste transported from your home to the recycle center or people going from one town to another. In almost everything we do, a transport is involved. When a personal car is not enough, most transports move by trucks or buses.
There has been quite some attention to autonomous cars and autonomous trucks recently. In a world where more and more things, e.g. trucks, are connected, technology constantly pushes the boundaries. What seemed like science fiction yesterday is now literally waiting around the corner. From a professional driver’s perspective, there are other concerns: Will autonomous trucks be a threat to my job? Actually, truck autonomy could really improve the working conditions for drivers.
For rescue operations ‘response time’ is one of the measures for effectiveness. In emergency situations response time should be as short as possible as this could be crucial for saving lives or properties at danger. Accordingly, much effort is put into reducing response times. But actually, what is response time?
Some products are so functional and effective that there is little potential to improve them. The violin, for example, got its design by the Italian master violin-makers in the 17th century. Countless efforts have been made to challenge its basic construction in order to improve it, but in vain. The violin is so close to perfect that no one has come up with a fundamental improvement during the last 350 years.
Tire chains are not that old – they were patented in 1904, and ever since they have proven to be very effective for increasing traction.
"When I get a call from a driver saying `-Today I was saved by Onspot´ it´s already payed off".
This quote is from Rolf-Olav Tenden, owner of Thor Tenden Transport AS in Norway. It is a quote that sums it all up quite well. When you, as an owner of a transport company can relax, knowing that your drivers are using vehicles with the right equipment. Equipment that is reliable and makes sure that the driver makes it to the delivery point regardless of the weather. And also brings them home safe.
We should pay special attention to bridges and overpasses when driving in temperatures around freezing point. We’ve learnt that bridges may be icy while the road isn’t, and that’s all we need to know to for safety reasons. But, giving it a second thought, how could the bridge be icy when the road isn’t? Here’s why.
Whether driving a small go-kart or a heavy hauler, you must have traction to move forward. Actually, you can’t even walk without it. Traction is a commonly used word and many believe it’s just another word for friction. But is it really? Let’s have a closer look at friction and traction – what it is and why it’s so fundamental to safe driving.
We all know the feeling when tyres lose grip and the vehicle starts skidding. Controlled skidding in a go-kart could be fun, but a heavy vehicle unexpectedly skidding on a road could cause a very dangerous situation. The skidding is due to the vehicle losing road grip and obviously, this has to do with tyres and road surface.