Less wear and tear

Fleets looking to improve their bottom line and embrace comforts have gravitated toward automated manual transmissions. So much so that 85 percent of all new Volvo trucks leave the assembly line with one installed.

“What we’ve seen and what I’ve experienced is there’s less wear and tear on the body,” Stadler says, “but also mentally you’re not having to prepare for that next change of shifting when traffic conditions change.”

Fully automated, clutch pedal-free shifting, allows drivers to focus on the road, rather than which gear they need to be in adds Stu Russoli, Mack Trucks’ highway product manager.

That leads to reduced fatigue, as drivers no longer have to row through the gears. “And mDRIVE makes it simpler and less intimidating for new drivers to become experienced drivers, which is definitely more driver friendly,” Russoli adds.

Freightliner and Navistar, each of which are building updated trucks in the months ahead, added a one-piece windshield to their new units along with eliminating the vent window from the doors – moves aimed at boosting visibility.

Denny Mooney, Navistar senior vice president of global product development, also says the company redesigned the mirrors on its new LT Series to allow the driver to turn their head 15 percent less on the driver’s side and 5 percent less on the passenger side.

“It may not sound like a lot but after 11 hours of driving and turning your head, it is a ton of driver fatigue,” Sass says.