Trucksales Safety Award 2021: The Winner

With the launch of the new 300-Series in July last year, Hino Australia took safety in the light-duty truck market in Australia to a new level.
And what’s more all the safety features on the new 300-Series are standard.

Following in the footsteps of the 500 Series standard-cab that took out the Trucksales Safety Award last year, the new 300 Series features Hino SmartSafe, a comprehensive safety package with advanced driver-assist technology that Hino says takes an active focus in protecting drivers, passengers and other road users.

Hino SmartSafe includes a Pre-Collision System (PCS) with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), pedestrian detection, lane departure warning system, vehicle stability control, reverse camera and a suite of other standard safety features.

The Hino 300-Series covers GVM ratings from 4.5 tonnes though to 8.5 tonnes and twoing capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes.

At the launch of the new 300-Series, Daniel Petrovski Hino’s Manager of Product Strategy said that many drivers of the 300-Series would not have truck licences but would be driving on car licences.

“Over 50 per cent of 300 Series models sold are registered on a passenger car-licence – choosing a new 300 Series will provide our customers with safety features superior to those found in many passenger vehicles, with the added advantage of a greater payload courtesy of a higher GVM, GCM and towing capability,” Petrovski said.

As mentioned, other safety features of the 300 Series include land departure warning, daytime running lights (a unique feature for Hino in the light-duty truck segment), dual SRS airbags, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, and electronic brake force distribution (EBD).

The 300 Series Cab has been tested to the UN ECE R-29 cab strength certification and features narrow A-pillars which ensure a nearly uninterrupted forward view.

The interior of the 300 Series also came in for a makeover with the new model. Improved ergonomics including steering-wheel-mounted switches for often-used functions also add to the safety equation of the Hino 300 as drivers don’t need to move their hands from the wheel to perform simple tasks.

Forward vision is complemented by the heated and electrically operated flat main mirrors, and the convex spotter mirrors which offer vision to the side and behind the vehicle.

“When combined with the high-definition waterproof and infrared Reverse Camera, the new 300 Series offers near 360-degree vision for improved safety when manoeuvring the vehicle,” said Petrovski at the launch.

Overall, our judging panel was unanimous in its decision to award the 2021 Trucksales Safety Award to Hino for the 300-Series which takes safety in the light-duty truck market to a new level.