Work truck fleet owners, operators, and managers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. With an owner’s responsibility to ensure a fully equipped and functional fleet, the operator ensuring the truck and themselves stay safe and get the job done, and the manager’s tasks to make sure it all happens on time and as efficiently as possible, there’s quite a bit of room for error in the industry. The purpose of the job is to get tasks done and make the money, but if the operation you’re running isn’t safe and efficient, you could find that your operation is a money waster instead of a money maker.
Luckily there are multiple ways fleet owners, operators, and managers can ensure a safe and productive fleet through proper maintenance, the use of technology, and abiding by rules and regulations. Modern WorkTruck Solutions has covered several of these topics before. However, one safety aspect that might not get as much attention as deserved is work truck lighting.
A safe truck is a well-lit truck, be it lighting to illuminate a workspace or hazard/caution lighting.
ILLUMINATE YOUR SPACE
When work trucks are your mobile office, sometimes you employ a makeshift workspace on the side, front, or rear of your vehicle. To illuminate your space, TecNiq’s K-series scene lights’ (K60, K70, and K90s) high-powered white lights are great for producing big, bright output to light up the area. The lights are also great for illuminating trees, ditches, or more areas where your crew could be working.
Buyers Products’ 5.5-inch wide rectangular LED flood light also easily illuminates your workspace. It provides 1,620 lumens of light across an area of almost 115 ft. It’s IP67 rated for water and dust resistance, too. The light features a narrow profile, and it has a stainless steel base.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Working on the side of the road at night or in areas where other drivers pass the jobsite can be very dangerous for your crew. It’s important that those other drivers are well aware of any roadwork or crew members up ahead. TecNiq has two lighting options that are well-suited for this scenario: the K10 flashing beacon light and the K30 grille light. The K10 works well on standard trucks as well as bucket trucks—in fact, Altec employs the lights on its trucks. The K30 grille light is great for being seen by other drivers; it helps to bring attention to work trucks.
Additionally, research has shown that a flashing brake light can help reduce the frequency of rear-end collisions by more than 33%. Therefore, light manufacturer Grote Industries developed the Auxiliary Strobe and Stop Lamp, a supplemental brake-activated warning lamp, to help fleets achieve the visibility they need to stay seen and safe on the road. Wired directly into the trailer’s brake circuit, the lamp is simple to install and provides attention-getting capability far beyond that of standard solid-burn brake lights. Braking initiates a sequence of five amber flashes in four seconds followed by a solid red burn to effectively draw the attention of following traffic. In 2020, Grote applied for and received an FMCSA waiver to allow fleets to install this lamp on their dry vans, reefers, and other trailers.
LOOK GOOD & BRIGHT
Make sure your trucks are seen by other drivers and pedestrians, but also make sure your truck adequately reflects your brand. Optronics recently debuted five LED lamps with what the brand calls a Smoke-Lens effect. The first compliant lamps of their kind, their darkened lenses help them blend into a vehicle’s body contours, presenting a clean and stylish look.
The Smoke-Lens offering includes 6-inch oval and 4-inch round stop, tail, turn lamps, a 6-inch oval backup lamp, and a three-quarter-inch PC-rated clearance marker lamp. There is also a 20-inch Smoke-Lens version of its popular Thinline series surface-mount LED stop, tail, turn light bar, complete with a matte black mounting base/bezel.
Blackout-lens lamps have been seen in the automotive aftermarket for several years, but previous products have lacked regulatory compliance. In order to meet federal and international standards, Optronics’ engineers had to overcome a number of optical challenges in order to meet FMVSS 108 and CMVSS 108 photometric requirements for visibility and safety.
BRAND BUILDING
No matter your lighting needs or which lighting manufacturer(s) you choose to make your perfect lighting setup, it all boils down to making sure your team can see and can be seen. Build a reputation of safety and respectability when your crew is happy with its work conditions and when you have fewer safety incidents due to improper lighting.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Find out more, visit www.optronicsinc.com, www.tecniqinc.com, www.grote.com, and www.buyersproducts.com.
