Daf `blackbox' beats tacho
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DAF has developed an electronic onboard "service recorder" which could replace the tachograph, but which records a lot more information than any tachograph can.
Describing the device at the European •Fransport Maintenance Council conference in Strasbourg this week Jacques Van Deursen, Dal's general service manager, said it was "the truck equivalent of an aeroplane's black box".
Information such as journey times, average speed, fuel consumption and even such detail as braking pressures, number of brake applications and number of gear changes can be stored in the microprocessor based service recorder which Dal says has been developed as an extension of its Visar fuel economy advisory system.
When connected to any personal computer's printer the Daf service recorder can quickly provide graphs and charts to show how a vehicle and its driver have performed over any given period or route.
Van Deursen says that Dal is ready now to offer the service recorder as an option and is currently tailoring the system to suit operators requirements. Several have been undergoing operator trials in various European countries including the UK where a vehicle fitted with a service recorder has been in service since last July.