Freeway Fleet Systems has integrated Wheely-Safe wheel security and tyre pressure monitoring into its fleet maintenance platform. It will deliver what Freeway calls “vital intelligence” to help improve the safety of coaches and buses by assisting with the prevention of wheel failures and tyre degradation.
Wheely-Safe’s unit detects the onset of wheel loss before detachment. If a wheel nut starts to loosen, a signal is sent to a display unit in the cab. It also incorporates a heat sensor to detect brake and hub issues involving low or high temperatures. Optional is an inbuilt intelligent tyre pressure monitoring system.
Freeway can receive wheel and tyre pressure data from the wheel-fitted device either directly via a vehicle’s telematics or CAN bus, or wirelessly on return to the depot. Tyre pressure data can also be transmitted to a driver’s mobile phone for recording via the Freeway walk-round check app.
Says Freeway Fleet Systems Managing Director Patrick Tandy: “Wheely-Safe adds crucial data to Freeway’s pool of vehicle maintenance data. It is all the more important as Wheely-Safe picks up defects that are not that evident to the human eye, and are therefore easily missed during driver first use safety examinations.
“Wheel loss is, of course, a particular worry, but whether reducing this risk or identifying incorrect tyre pressures, Freeway is very much a system that helps operators to improve safety while reducing unnecessary costs.”
Adds Wheely-Safe MD Steve Jackson: “Our patented and multi award-winning technology offers a full suite of protection against major road safety issues that no single solution has ever tackled before.
“Many of the UK’s largest public transport operators are already protecting their vehicles with Wheely-Safe, and working with Freeway as one of the driving forces in the digitalisation of fleet maintenance represents a perfect partnership for both of us.”