Product news: BrakeSafe park brake system

Heavy vehicle runaways are more common that most of us think: on average, one per day, according to Dr Peter Hart, chairman of the Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association.

Sometimes, as a runaway begins, the driver is able to jump back on board and apply the parking brake, but often becomes a victim in the process by being run over.

Related reading:
Driver monitoring the key for safe autonomous vehicles
Boral pioneers safer road construction
Is this the world's safest tow vehicle?

'Uncontrolled movement of bus – passenger injury'; 'Driver struck and killed by her own vehicle'; 'Runaway vehicle results in calls for handbrake safety'; 'Worker fatally struck by vehicle'; 'Worker pinned by runaway vehicle'; 'Truck smashes into Year One classroom' and 'Truck driver dead after tripping and being run over by own vehicle'. These headlines are all too common and are usually the result of a simple failure to apply the vehicle's parking brake. Many train runaways are also the result of misapplied brakes.

Air-brake-system parking brakes could hardly be simpler: air pressure in the system keeps a powerful spring 'loaded' and when that pressure drops the spring applies the brakes mechanically (provided the brakes are adjusted correctly). That air pressure drop is also triggered by applying the parking brake, which is why there's a burst of air from the back of the vehicle when it's applied.

Most spring-brake handbrake levers have a locking collar that ensures the brake can't be accidentally released and US-type parking brakes have a fat mushroom head on a shaft that also has a locking mechanism. Securely applying the brake shouldn't be a problem, but failure to activate it is a regular cause of serious accidents.

There's been a well-publicised push for autonomous braking in all heavy vehicles and there's at least as much need for an autonomous parking brake. Brisbane-based LSM Technologies thought so too, and in 2018 teamed up with UK-based Vision Techniques Group Limited to develop a solution.

LSM now distributes VT's vehicle safety mitigation controls in Australia, to reduce the risk of collision, vehicle theft and vehicle runaways.

VT BrakeSafe is an electronic system that automatically applies the parking brake if the vehicle operator forgets to do so. A voice warning tells the driver to apply the parking brake and reset the system. It works even after the driver has switched off the ignition.

BrakeSafe applies the parking brake if the driver leaves the seat or opens the door.

If the parking brake is automatically engaged due to air pressure loss, BrakeSafe monitors parking brake release to prevent a vehicle runaway during air pressure build-up.

BrakeSafe also ensures safety when coupling and uncoupling air-braked trailers. During a correct coupling procedure, the driver needs to exit and enter the cab, and also apply and release the prime mover parking brake three times, before doing a 'tug test'. Failing to engage the parking brake before exiting the cab each time can result in a runaway.

In addition, BrakeSafe integrates to LSM Technologies' FSMTM Fleet Safety Manager Telematics and web-based system for alerting, reporting and analysis of events and compliance.

Complementing BrakeSafe is another VT product, Banksman, which uses radar to provide the driver with audible and visual alarms of an obstacle or person behind the vehicle, when reversing. If the alerts are ignored, the system automatically applies the parking brake before collision can occur.