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30. September 2020Austrian Post voluntarily equips its entire truck fleet with turning assistants. After extensive testing and a Europe-wide tender, the retrofitting will soon be completed. The contract was awarded to the Winkler Group from Stuttgart.
(Vienna) To enhance road safety, Austrian Post is voluntarily equipping its entire truck fleet with turning assistants. Last year, the Post conducted tests with various systems that are already approved in Germany, for example. Following a EU-wide tender, the installation of the turning assistants in all Post trucks began in August, and the entire retrofitting will be completed in the coming days.
“The Post is aware of its role as a flagship company in the transport and logistics sector, which is why we implement innovations not only in the areas of sustainability and e-mobility but also focus on safety. By voluntarily installing turning assistants in our truck fleet, Austrian Post contributes to increased road safety,” explains DI Peter Umundum, Board Member for Parcel & Logistics at Austrian Post AG.
A total of 145 Post vehicles have been equipped with a turning assistant, and the last trucks will be retrofitted in the coming days. The work has taken place in six partner workshops across Austria and has taken about one day per vehicle. Austrian Post is investing around 250,000 euros in retrofitting its fleet.
NEW TURNING SYSTEM PROVIDES VISUAL AND AUDITORY WARNINGS
The new turning assistant for Post trucks is supplied by the commercial vehicle specialist Winkler, utilizing a camera-based system from the manufacturer Axion. It consists of a side camera to monitor the surveillance area, a monitor in the driver’s cabin to display the camera image, and a control unit. This unit evaluates the information in the camera image using software and issues a warning to the drivers in case of dangerous incidents – such as a person in the blind spot.
The camera captures and monitors a defined area next to the vehicle during the turning process. The software automatically detects movements in this area and warns the drivers both visually and audibly, through color displays on the monitor and an alarm sound.
The European Union mandates the compulsory installation of turning assistants in trucks starting in 2022 for all new vehicle models and from 2024 for all newly registered vehicles. Austrian Post has already opted for voluntary retrofitting, taking an important step towards enhancing road safety on Austria’s roads and protecting the most vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, and especially children.
ABOUT WINKLER
The Winkler Group is one of the leading wholesalers for commercial vehicle spare parts in Europe. Around 1,700 employees ensure personalized support for commercial vehicle owners, workshops, bus, and agricultural companies at over 40 locations in Germany, Austria, Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Slovakia. From three of the largest central warehouses for commercial vehicle parts in Europe, with more than 200,000 spare parts, goods are delivered to customers as quickly as possible through a sophisticated logistics and delivery concept. In 2019, the company generated a revenue of 440 million euros.
Photo: © Austrian Post
