Flogas Britain picks VT BrakeSafe to prevent tanker roll-away hazard

Flogas Britain has installed Vision Techniques’ BrakeSafe system to its tankers to prevent the risk of a vehicle roll-away incident.

The gas firm, which supplies liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to customers across the UK, runs a fleet of more than 400 vehicles from a 53-strong depot network.

Fleet manager Steve Moir said: “Being compliant, and safe, is important to us and, whilst we manage our fleet very closely, we can’t be there 100% of the time.

“The potential for a vehicle roll-away is something we have acknowledged but, until recently, it was an event that was very difficult for us to protect ourselves against. With BrakeSafe, we have found a robust and cost-effective way to apply this protection.”

Flogas said it had originally looked at visual and audible alerts, but as they still required the input from the driver, they weren’t considered to offer a high enough level of protection. Whereas the BrakeSafe handbrake failsafe system automatically applies the handbrake if a driver forgets to when leaving the vehicle.

Another key feature Flogas required was the ability to link BrakeSafe to its in-cab camera system, enabling incident footage to be reviewed to aid with investigations and driver training.

Moir said: “It will give us unambiguous and impartial evidence of what was going on in the seconds leading up to an incident, which is invaluable in helping us ensure that similar events do not happen again.”

Flogas trialled the system first to ensure it worked effectively with all the other safety devices fitted to its vehicles and to make sure it met all the criteria required for operating in an ADR environment.

Following a successful trial, the business made the decision to fit the system more widely across its fleet, with strong buy-in from senior management after they had acknowledged the safety benefits.

Moir added: “The potential for rollaways should be on the radar of every fleet manager – BrakeSafe makes sure you don’t receive ‘that’ telephone call and gives us the tools to retrain and monitor every potential incident.”

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