The GCC is awash with ageing commercial vehicles, and it is no secret that many of these vehicles represent a significant hazard to road users.
With this is mind, Charles Wilson, CEO of Safetytrim MENA, arrived in the UAE approximately 18 months ago with a safety product targeting two of the most common failures associated with commercial vehicles in the GCC — tyre bursting and wheel loss. If you manage fleet or even just commute frequently along the UAE’s bustling bypasses, you are probably familiar with the sight of rubber remains or wheels lying stricken by the side of the road, indicating a truck has had an incident.
Safetytrim’s solution is a ring-shaped device that fits over the wheel nuts on the outside of a truck or bus’ hub cab to fulfil two functions: to hold the nuts on a wheel in place and stop the wheel from physically detaching from a vehicle, and to indicate when individual nuts have become loose, or ‘de-torqued’.
Wilson explains: “A lot of accidents happen here through tyres bursting; however, a lot of those that do are down to the wheel nuts burring or coming loose due to expansion or contraction in the extreme temperatures.”
Safetytrim works by tightly fitting over each of the wheel nuts in-situ, locking them in place and preventing them from coming off. Whenever a nut de-torques, the tightly fitted cap rotates within the ringed frame of the device and a yellow indicator appears in a viewing hole.
Wilson continues: “It is a warning system that can be checked each time the bus is stopped daily, simply by observing the wheel to see if the coloured indicator has changed.”
The solution is already being used in Europe and Australia, and so Wilson knows it works, but his ambition is more than just market recognition — he is gunning for regulation.
He notes: “We have extensively tested the device in the UAE under the guidance of the RTA’s Vehicle Product Licensing Group and the Emirates Authority For Standardization & Metrology and the Department of Transport, and been certified by the federal government.”
The UAE authorities have also held discussions about making the product mandatory.
This recognition has been hard fought and won through extensive tests in the UAE with the RTA on their own vehicles, Dubai police, Emirates Transport, DP World, EPPCO, ENOC, Masafi and Wade Adams — which notably tested the product in construction.
In all, Safetytrim has been road tested over nearly three million kilometres in the UAE, and received endorsements from STS (the UAE’s largest bus group), Scania, Volvo (through UAE dealer, FAMCO), Able Transport, Al Wathba, Dyna-trade, Go Trade in KSA and Shell in Iraq.
Wilson adds: “It’s a hybrid material made by Dupont that works in extreme temperatures — both cold and hot — and extreme humidity. It’s made out of a polyamide and a glass synthetic, and is precision-engineered in Switzerland.”
Facing the facts
The need for such a product in the Gulf, where high temperatures and a haphazard approach to maintenance are a recipe for disaster, is not visible in the statistics, because there are none.
However, when Wilson went to the Dubai police himself to enquire about the volume of incidents he was informed that the numbers are “horrendous”, and a problem seen every day.
“Suffice to say the figure for tyres bursting and wheel nuts coming off and the danger that this presents on the road — with the way tyres are run down — is very high,” states Wilson.
And while Safetytrim has already conducted tests with a range of prominent public bodies and large commercial companies, both groups are poor indicators of the extent of the problem.
Wilson notes: “The thing is these major companies go into the workshop every night and they look after their trucks far better.
“The danger is with construction trucks that are basically rented out to move all the rocks and debris. A lot of these trucks are owned by the drivers, and the big companies subcontract them. Because the drivers manage the trucks themselves, they run them down.”
At the same time, the authorities to not have specific measures in place to address this issue. The only system that has an indirect impact is the deterrent effect of speed cameras, which reduce the overall risk profile on roads.
There are loopholes in the existing setup at vehicle licensing centres. Wilson explains: “The owners switch in new tyres and brakes before they go to the licensing centres, pass the test and then switch the tyres and brakes back.”
In contrast, the potential implications of regulation for the use of Safetytrim could see that all vehicles over a certain age be fitted with the device to allow federal authorities to perform random spot-checks at any time.
Wilson notes: “There are 400,000 trucks on the road at any time and the police understand what needs to be done. People have said that it takes a long time to achieve legislation, but this is different, because commercial vehicles are causing severe problems on the roads.”
Bang for your buck
Depending on the products it sells, the cost of Safetytrim will be roughly $30 to $40 (AED 120 to 150) per device. The cost per vehicle would then vary depending on the number of wheels. In the UAE, the discussion as to whether the device should be on trailers as well continues.
Either way, Wilson notes: “When you add that into the service cost, it’s actually not that much. I met just the one big contractor, Wade Adams, but every other major transport company — DHL, Tristar, Agility, UBS — would see me. They are all interested, and said that they loved the product. They maintain their trucks very well, but they see the PR value.”
In contrast, he explains: “While nobody has the statistics, when a truck tyre bursts, you have an alignment change that, in a region where many operators over-torque their nuts, can automatically cause nuts to come off and a wheel to come off — and then you’re talking about hundreds of thousands for a repair job.”
Just to be sure, however, Safetytrim has tested and retested its product over the years. When it first took the device to Australia, the heat and humidity caused a problem with the material. The hybrid material was then refined and re-engineered by the manufacturer, Dupont, and is now even more reliable.
For this region, 12 models of Safetytrim have been developed to cover the specifications of a vast majority of trucks in the region.
From theory to practice
Dubai’s RTA has now made a recommendation to the federal government that the devices be made mandatory UAE-wide on all school buses, as well as all trucks over 10 years old —which Wilson notes, is over 80% of them.
If the recommendation is accepted by the federal government — and the product made mandatory — it will be good for all involved, because there is a pressing need for change.
In the UAE, the Ministry of Interior reported that there were 4,788 road accidents and 675 deaths in the country in 2015. And in Dubai, the RTA carried out 22,015 random inspections of heavy trucks in the first half of 2016 and detected 12,837 faults — impounding 301 trucks for posing a threat to road users.
What Safetytrim offers is a fool-proof and cost-efficient monitoring system for wheel safety that could help authorities do their job.
From a commercial perspective, the cost-benefits analysis should make the case clear, but either way, Safetytrim may soon be law.
