Brigade Electronics has launched Brigade Van: a new product range featuring a variety of vehicle safety solutions that are specifically designed for the van market.
According to the latest information from The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport (PACTS), vans have the highest rate of ‘other road user’ deaths per mile travelled. Additionally, one in three (29%) of all road fatalities and more than one in five (21%) of all casualties occur while driving for work.
As the number of vans on the road in the UK continues to rise, transport managers and drivers face an increasing number of challenges. These include risk of collisions due to vehicle blind spots, theft and criminal activity, driver error, insurance ‘crash for cash’ scams and more stringent van legislation.
Brigade Van has been developed to address the challenges faced by van operators and provide a range of high-quality vehicle safety solutions that will reduce the risk of collisions, eliminate blind spots, cut insurance premiums, encourage driver best practice and serve as a deterrent against theft, vandalism and insurance scams.
Robert Timms, Brigade Van Product Manager at Brigade Electronics UK, said:
“We have been working closely with Logistics UK and its Van Excellence Standard to highlight the need for safety technology for vans.
“Since January 2021, changes to the Van Excellence Code have required all new vans entering fleets to be fitted with safety equipment, such as reversing alarms, sensors and cameras, to prevent collisions and protect vulnerable road users. This brings vans in line with larger commercial vehicles, particularly in the freight, haulage and construction industries that have been adhering to voluntary schemes, including Truck Excellence, FORS and CLOCS for more than a decade.”
Since these changes were implemented, Logistics UK has reported a significant rise in van safety standards with more than 100 businesses and local authorities now choosing to operate their vans to the ‘highest standards of safety, compliance and efficiency’. These include Greggs, DHL International and South East Water.
Brigade Electronics is now working to encourage other van operators to understand the need for these vital safety features via the introduction of Brigade Van.
The Brigade Van portfolio includes a camera monitor system featuring forward-facing and rear-facing cameras that provide real-time images of objects and people in the vehicle’s front and rear blind spots. These images are fed back to the driver via a ‘mirror monitor’ which clips onto the van’s existing rear-view mirror, making it quick and easy to install.
The camera monitor system can be integrated with Brigade Van’s MDR Digital Video Recorder and dash cams. This vehicle CCTV system, which records and saves footage, provides invaluable and irrefutable evidence in the event of an incident and acts as a deterrent against thieves and crash-for-cash insurance scammers – helping to cut insurance premiums and provide peace of mind for van drivers.
For electric and hybrid vans, the absence of a combustion engine means that when the vehicle travels at speeds below 12.5mph it is almost silent. As of 2021, every electric and hybrid vehicle on the road has to be retrofitted with devices that can be heard at low speeds. Brigade’s QVS Quiet Vehicle Sounder integrates its patented bbs-tek® technology that creates a highly directional and instantly locatable sound to warn vulnerable road users of approaching silent electric and hybrid vehicles.
Robert added: “The results achieved by Logistics UK following the updates to the Van Excellence Code in 2021 have made a significant impact on ensuring van fleets are the safest they have ever been, and we are delighted with how the scheme continues to go from strength to strength. However, there is still work to be done and we will be continuing to work with Logistics UK to do everything we can to promote this important issue to professional van drivers and operators. Brigade Van is part of this mission – we are delighted to be introducing it to the UK market.”
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