Praxair Inc. — a producer and supplier of atmospheric, process and specialty gases and high-performance surface coatings — has specified LifeGuard RollTek on all new Praxair tractors for its U.S.-based bulk fleet. On its latest order, the company equipped Freightliner Cascadia trucks with the side-roll protection technology.
LifeGuard RollTek is designed to combine side airbag protection with the latest advancements in seatbelt technology. In a rollover, RollTek is designed to deploy in less than a quarter of a second to minimize driver movement, increase survivable space and cushion head and neck impact, significantly reducing the potential for death or serious injury.
Tim Johnson, fleet manager at Praxair, says this technology improvement comes from a company commitment to safety and the overall safe operations of its equipment. “Safety is one of our core principles,” Johnson says. “In the event that we do have a rollover, we believe that RollTek will help protect our drivers and will minimize, if not eliminate, injuries.”
With corporate headquarters in Danbury, Conn., and U.S. operations based in Tonawanda, N.Y., Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The U.S.-based bulk fleet employs about 700 drivers, making more than 360,000 deliveries a year.
The Cascadia by Freightliner is the first over-the-road truck that is available with LifeGuard RollTek. RollTek also is available on Oshkosh S-Series front discharge mixers, and the majority of manufacturers of custom fire apparatus now offer RollTek side-roll protection.
