DICV raises the safety of BharatBenz heavy-duty trucks

DICV has modified the cabins on its newest trucks for AIS-031 compliance in accordance with European rules, with the goal of increasing driver safety on the road.

At the BAUMA Conexpo in Bengaluru in January 2023, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), which recently unveiled its high-performance construction and mining vehicles, reaffirmed its dedication to vehicle safety.

DICV has modified the cabins on its newest trucks for AIS-031 compliance in accordance with European rules, with the goal of increasing driver safety on the road.

The Chennai-based company has voluntarily renovated the cabins of its mining and construction vehicles to AIS-031 safety requirements, which are one step above the country's AIS-029 criteria. While the move is motivated by the company's desire to improve driver and vehicle safety on Indian roads, it also allows the company to sell its products to many European countries where heavy-duty trucks must comply with rules similar to the AIS-031 norms.

While the AIS-029 cabin crash test standards require an OEM to perform three crash tests - pendulum (for front or head-on collision), roof strength test, and rear-wall test (for payload) - the upgraded norms include two additional tests - A-pillar test, and side-corner test - to ensure occupant safety during a rollover.

The AIS-031 requirements additionally enhance the loads used to crush the cabin during a crash test, but the A-pillar and side-corner tests maintain structural integrity in the event of a topple.

Whereas the AIS-029 crash test norms concentrate on the bottom half of the truck cabin, which is made of steel, the AIS-031 standards emphasize the upper half of the cabin, which largely contains glass and the windshield, making it extremely difficult for OEMs to improve its strength.

The new DICV trucks, which are sold in India under the brand name 'BharatBenz,' are created and developed domestically at the company's full-fledged R&D center in Chennai, with assistance from Daimler's global centres of excellence. T

he firm reiterates that safety is its top priority, and as part of the impending rules, it will now implement electronic stability control, or ESC, in DICV buses beginning in April.