• MEDIA RELEASE: WA TRANSPORT COMPANY TRIALS THERMAL CAMERA TO REDUCE ANIMAL STRIKES

    15 February 2017
    1373 Views

    MEDIA Release

    • Local WA Transport Company trials thermal camera to reduce animal strikes.
    • Animal strikes account for 22% of all heavy vehicle accident claims in WA
    • WARTA supports trial and the continuing innovation shown by WA Transport Operators.

    A WA family owned Transport Company, Pala Pty Ltd has been conducting a 6 month trial of a thermal camera in one of its trucks in order to reduce animal strikes. The results so far have been positive.

    After several major animal strikes in the North West, Pala made the decision to try and do something about it. So after investigation they decided to try the use of the thermal camera.

    Animal strikes are not only damaging to the vehicles they are distressing to drivers, said Barry Cochrane Director of Pala pty ltd.

    “As everyone who has driven WA country roads knows, animals are very difficult to spot and often jump out in front of your vehicle leaving you no time to react.”

    The thermal camera means that our drivers can see animals even when hidden on the side of the road, regardless of whether its day or night for up to 500 metres ahead of the vehicle. This gives our drivers time to begin to take action to either slow down or avoid the animal.” said Barry Cochrane.

    Owen Driscoll, Director National Truck Accident Research Centre welcomed the trial and innovation shown by Pala . porthedland2

    “Losses involving animal strike continue to contribute to a large proportion of insurance claims involving heavy vehicles. Animal strike, with over 520 incidents in the past six (6) years, represented 22% of all losses involving heavy vehicles in WA.’ said Owen Driscoll NTI’s Director of truck accident research.

    ‘During this time damage sustained from animal strike accounted for insured losses in excess of $13.3m. This does not include additional downtime and expenses to our customers or the loss of stock where cattle are involved.’ he said.

    National Truck Accident Research Centre is an initiative of Australia’s largest dedicated truck insurance company, National Transport Insurance (NTI).

    WA’s Road Transport Association, Executive Officer Cam Dumesny mountedcamerasays “The general public often do not appreciate the level of safety investments and innovation that our industry operators undertake generally at their own initiative and cost.”

    View the original article at http://www.warta.com.au/media-release-wa-transport-company-trials-thermal-camera-to-reduce-animal-strikes/

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  • Cochranes Cartage Contractors, NTARC and WARTA see benefits

    15 February 2017
    1304 Views

    A technology more commonly seen in the movies or wildlife documentaries is being tested in Australia in a bid to reduce animal strikes on trucks.
    Western Australian family-owned trucking firm Pala Pty Ltd, which trades as Cochranes Cartage Contractors, has been conducting a six-month trial of a thermal camera in one of its trucks, reportedly with promising results.
    Animal strikes are not only damaging to the vehicles they are distressing to drivers, Pala director Barry Cochrane says.
    “As everyone who has driven WA country roads knows, animals are very difficult to spot and often jump out in front of your vehicle leaving you no time to react.”
    “The thermal camera means that our drivers can see animals even when hidden on the side of the road, regardless of whether its day or night for up to 500 metres ahead of the vehicle.
    “This gives our drivers time to begin to take action to either slow down or avoid the animal.”
    The firm, which runs a fleet of 12 trucks, has used one truck to test the concept and Cochrane reports it is a hit with his drivers.
    “They love it, they think it’s great,” he says.
    “It gives them a heads-up a lot earlier.”
    They do a lot of night driving up the coast road, often on low beam, and it also aids identifying animals obscured by the lights of oncoming vehicles.
    National Truck Accident Research Centre (NTARC) director Owen Driscoll welcomes the trial and innovation shown by Cochrane’s company.
    “Losses involving animal strike continue to contribute to a large proportion of insurance claims involving heavy vehicles,” Driscoll says.
    “Animal strike, with over 520 incidents in the past six years, represented 22 per cent of all losses involving heavy vehicles in WA.
    “During this time damage sustained from animal strike accounted for insured losses in excess of $13.3m.
    “This does not include additional downtime and expenses to our customers or the loss of stock where cattle are involved.’”
    NTARC is an initiative of dedicated truck insurance company National Transport Insurance (NTI).
    In a study released last July, it reported that animal strike accounted for one in seven reported single vehicle accident involve hitting animals, mostly cattle and kangaroo.
    NTARC’s biennial Major Truck Crash Incidents report, on those costing more than $50,000, published biennially, is due early this year.
    WA Road Transport Association executive officer Cam Dumesny also backs the initiative.
    “The general public often do not appreciate the level of safety investments and innovation that our industry operators undertake generally at their own initiative and cost,” Dumesny says.
    Avantgarde Distribution, the national distributor of the FLIR MD series equipment used, supplied the unit.
    “Initial trials commenced nearly three years ago and we have a number of fleets utilising the equipment throughout Western Australia,” Avantgarde’s Pete Hellemons tells ATN.
    “Our vision is that every heavy vehicle working regionally in the top half of Australia should be fitted with thermal imaging not only for their safety and reducing their operating costs but the safety of all road users.”
    Hellemons says the MD625 unit provides vision in excess of 800m without the need for any high beam lights.
    “So where you have high volumes of traffic such as Great Northern Highway, between Hedland and Auski, you are pretty much stuck on low beam and the region is filled with heaps of cattle,” he adds.

    View the original article at https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/1702/animal-strike-thermal-camera-testing-backed

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  • Thermal camera trial cuts down on animal strikes

    15 February 2017
    1303 Views

    THE results so far have been positive in a six month trial of a truck mounted thermal imaging camera.

    Western Australia’s Pala Pty Ltd, trading as Cochranes Cartage Contractors, who provide express overnight line haul services to WA’s north west, mounted a thermal camera in one of their trucks in a bid to reduce animal strikes.

    The camera is mounted just above the steering wheel and highlights animals as white shapes.

    After a number of major animal strikes in WA’s north west Pala searched around for a way to mitigate against such events in the future.

    With the assistance of Avantgarde Distribution, the national authorised land distributor for FLIR Thermal Imaging, they installed a FLIR MD625 thermal camera that provides vision in excess of 800 metres ahead without the need for any high beam lighting.

    The company had had more than 10 animal strikes on its trucks in the lead up to the trial, and even minor strikes can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.

    “As everyone who has driven WA country roads knows, animals are very difficult to spot and often jump out in front of your vehicle leaving you no time to react,” Pala director Barry Cochrane said.

    “Animal strikes are not only damaging to the vehicles they are distressing for the drivers too. The thermal camera means our drivers can see animals even when the animal is hidden on the side of the road, regardless of whether its day or night, up to 500 metres ahead of the vehicle.

    “This gives our drivers time to begin to take action to either slow down or to avoid the animal.”

    Research by the National Truck Accident Research Centre, which was established by insurance giant NTI, shows that animal strikes account for 22 per cent of all heavy vehicle accident claims in Western Australia.

    More than 520 accidents in the past six years involved animal strikes resulting in insured losses in excess of $13.3 million and that figure does not include the cost to customers of their downtime and associated expenses, nor the cost of the loss of stock if such animals were involved.

    View this original article at http://www.bigrigs.com.au/news/thermal-camera-trial-cuts-down-animal-strikes/3138935/

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  • AVG FLIR Thermal Imaging Flyer

    15 May 2015
    2159 Views

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    May 2015 Flyer (New)

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