Volvo trucks pushes new VNL to the max with extreme Arctic testing

The only way to test the truck in the cold is to put it there. For North American Volvo trucks, which included its completely new VNL on a 3000 mile road trip from Colorado to Alaska. The site in Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the most accurate test environments in the world, where the temperature usually reaches 40 degrees below zero -Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). The severe cold air testing program aims to validate the performance, reliability and comfort of the truck in the most challenging operating conditions.

The validation process initially involves the transfer of trucks to Alaska, where the Volvo experimental team performs comprehensive real -world evaluations that go beyond laboratory experimental restrictions. Within a few months, truck engineers have been placed in different driving scenarios, including long distances to stop and move in the city. The goal is to simulate the actual customer operation in a variety of conditions.

An important component of the experimental diet contains the “cold wet” method in which vehicles remain off -night with silent engines until all parts reach the underground temperature. After 12 hours in these severe conditions, engineers then test the similar setting methods that drivers need in real -world conditions.

The stock is over the table, because waiting on the roadside roadside temperature, in addition to being dangerous to one’s health, creates unique challenges. During the test, professional drivers with extensive experience in the Alaska field provide detailed feedback to the test team. These insights, along with real -time performance data, enable engineers to adjust any aspect of the truck.

“A completely new VNL is designed to change everything, and this involves how to get closer to experimentation and refine in real -world conditions,” VOORHOEVE said in a press release.

The Arctic test environment is part of the five distinct American biomes that the company uses. These biomes include a city, desert, plain, coastal forests and North Pole.

Federals put the brakes in the speed restrictive instruction

Federal regulators have retracted proposals that can restrict speed restriction on large business trucks, citing significant data gaps and uncertainties related to the costs and benefits of this law. The Federal Carrier Carrier Safety Department (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Department (NHTSA) canceled two proposed laws that could speed trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds.

The canceled proposals include the main law of 2016, which began in the Obama administration at the request of the US Transport and Schneider Associations, and a bid for a follow -up in 2022 was issued under Biden’s government. The controversial measures have created more than 16,000 public comments by stakeholders throughout the industry.

The agencies said in a statement sent on Wednesday: “Given important concerns about policy and safety and the continuation of data gaps that make significant uncertainty about the costs of estimated, benefits and other impacts of the proposed law, FMCSA and NHTSA have decided to retrieve the offer.”

The 2016 proposal, which examined the speed of 60, 65 and 68 miles per hour, predicted that the 65 miles per hour between 63 and 214 lives with estimated benefits between $ 716 million and $ 2.4 billion, plus $ 848 million in fuel savings and greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposed proposal has made the transportation industry between the two polar camps: large carriers against small carriers and owner operators. The main carriers used measures, highlighting safety benefits and improving fuel consumption. However, the small fleets and the owner-caprators strongly opposed the bylaws and regarded it as harmful to their competition.

This Code, by creating a federal instruction that is limited to restricting heavy CMVs separately from passenger vehicles, creates dangerous speed differentials between CMV and other cars, thereby increasing the likelihood of accidents. “

The regulators cited several important concerns that they have been considered in their decision, including uncertainty about the effect of speed differential on the accident rate and the inability to increase the possible increase in rear collisions, including commercial vehicles. The agencies also noted that progress in crash avoidance technologies such as automatic emergency brake systems may now address some safety concerns about speed restrictions aimed at resolving it.