Issues of highway safety, individual freedom and the government’s avowed intention to mandate the use of some forms of safety-related technology on future heavy-duty trucks dominated the discussion during an Dec. 4 forum at the Society of Automotive Engineer’s annual Truck and Bus Conference here.

There was no magic on display at the Society of Automotive Engineers annual Truck and Bus Conference here last week.

There was no magic on display at the Society of Automotive Engineers annual Truck and Bus Conference last week as manufacturers were workign feverishly to build products that meet a variety of looming federal standards.

Issues of highway safety, individual freedom and the government’s avowed intention to mandate some safety-related technology on future heavy-duty trucks dominated the discussion during a forum at the Society of Automotive Engineer’s annual Truck and Bus Conference.

The Society of Automotive Engineers is hoping that discussions of vehicle safety and more general business transportation issues will broaden interest in the engineering association’s annual meeting here this week.

The Society of Automotive Engineers is hoping that discussions of vehicle safety and more general business transportation issues will broaden interest in the engineering association’s annual meeting here this week.

The medium-duty truck market in the United States may not rack up sales numbers as large as the heavy-duty, Class 8 category, but it has the attention of Japanese truck makers.

The medium-duty truck market in the United States may not rack up sales numbers as large as the heavy-duty, Class 8 category, but it has the attention of Japanese truck makers.

In Japan, narrow streets and regulatory limits on vehicle lengths and weights create an environment for commercial trucking that tolerates only the use of cab-over-engine trucks. That is why COEs, ranging from small, light-duty courier trucks to this country’s equivalent of Class 8 heavy-duty tractors, were the only truck types on display at the 34th Tokyo Motor Show.

The biannual Tokyo Motor Show is usually a showcase for cars and sport utility vehicles rather than trucks, but the most recent show was dedicated solely to commerical vehicles.