Bendix Demonstrates Safety Systems to Federal Regulators, Hill Staffers

WASHINGTON — Component manufacturer Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems offered instructions on the capabilities and complexity of North American trucks to federal officials here last week so that government might better understand how to interact with the industry.

The Elyria, Ohio, maker of brakes and advanced safety systems hosted 60 executive branch regulators, congressional staffers and two members of the House of Representatives on Sept. 14-15. In addition to setting up hardware displays, the company took participants on demonstration drives in the parking lots of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

“For folks in Washington, this gives them an opportunity to see the value of these systems. Nothing convinces a person of the power of these technologies like a demonstration,” said Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government affairs.

The company displayed drum and disc brakes that meet the new standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on truck stopping distances that took effect last month.

It also displayed a trio of air-handling systems designed to promote fuel economy that could help meet the joint NHTSA-Environmental Protection Agency rule for lowering greenhouse gas emissions in 2014 and 2017.

However, the most dramatic demonstrations were by tractor-trailers with radar-based safety systems that can spot slow or swerving cars and brake automatically, warn of stationary objects in the road and even read highway speed limit signs and then adjust the truck’s velocity.

“It was impressive to me,” said Richard Henderson, who attended the event in his role as director of government affairs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

“I’d never ridden in such a vehicle where these technologies were applied, and they do work,” Henderson said.

The company’s stability system, in operation on a tank truck, measures speed, turning radius and changes in load balance and automatically applied brakes to prevent a roll-over.

“As head of ATA, I was pleased to see one of the myriad number of companies developing great products for our industry offer a demonstration,” said American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves after attending the event.

“This affirms and demonstrates that we’re not a stand-pat industry. . . . It doesn’t take a government regulation to encourage us to pursue better safety and fuel economy systems,” Graves said. He added that he was particularly intrigued by the tire-pressure monitoring system that offered both safety and fuel economy benefits.

Graves also visited with captains of the ATA Road Team, who manned the association’s image trailer at the event.

Another twist on the fuel economy-safety combination, Bendix’s Andersky said, is adaptive cruise control. He said a number of fleet executives have told him they do not like cruise control — even though it improves fuel economy — because they fear it makes drivers inattentive.

“But with the braking and warnings provided by adaptive cruise control, they feel free to pursue the fuel economy benefits,” Andersky said.

Safety systems are not unique to Bendix. Manufacturer Meritor Inc., for example, produces advanced safety systems through its Meritor Wabco joint venture with Wabco Holdings.

Bendix manager Mark McCullough said the company’s products do not require a subsidy to make sense. As an example, he said the three-part air-handling system pays for itself within 12 months given current diesel prices.

The air-injection booster draws pressurized air from a reserve tank to help solve the problem of turbo lag when a truck begins to move after a stop. The air compressor clutch means the compressor no longer has to work constantly, but only when needed. And an electronic air control tries to operate the compressor when the vehicle is rolling downhill, generating current through gravity rather than burning diesel.

John Hill, the former head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, attended as a consultant working for Bendix.

“It is very significant that manufacturers develop these systems and fleets adapt them without any regulator telling them what to do. As a former regulator, if I can get someone to improve safety without issuing a regulation, it’s a wonderful thing,” Hill said.

Separately, Bendix said Sept. 8 it formed a new division to focus on remanufacturing.

“Before, remanufacturing was done within each product line group, but now, it will be its own entity,” said Stephen Mance, general manager of the Bendix charging and remanufacturing businesses.

“With more remanufacturing, it would reduce trucking’s carbon footprint, so it’s the right thing to do,” Mance said, adding that cyclicality in truck making is a further inducement for remanufacturing. “During peak times like now, sometimes the truck manufacturers need most of the new components that everyone produces, and that brings shortages of parts to the aftermarket.”

Bendix said the North American remanufacturing business for trailers and Class 6-8 vehicles was a $3.1 billion market in 2010.

Staff Reporter Frederick Kiel contributed to this story.