A topic close to the heart of anyone in the heavy vehicle industry is safety. This is why we celebrate the 2025 HVIA National Awards Safety Innovation Award winner (sponsored by the NHVR), Volvo Trucks Australia.
Volvo’s most recent upgrade to its dynamic steering tackles a critical safety risk, being sudden front tyre blowouts, which can cause a heavy truck to veer or tilt sharply; a situation that’s extremely difficult for a driver to manage, especially at speed. Without automated support, a driver facing a flat tyre may struggle to maintain control in the split seconds before an accident occurs.
For the driver, steering effort at low speeds is reduced, supporting fatigue management. Truck driving can be the cause of long-term occupational hazards in the form of physical strain and driver fatigue, particularly to the driver’s neck, back and shoulders. This is caused by long hours sitting in one spot, exposed to vibrations and having to continuously make small adjustments to the steering due to different road conditions. Volvo Dynamic Steering reduces the vibration levels and can adapt the steering to different road conditions.
The new generation of Volvo Dynamic Steering introduces a real-time front tyre puncture detection and mitigation feature. When a front wheel loses pressure, the system rapidly reduces lateral forces and assists steering, helping keep the truck on its intended path.
Combined with existing benefits such as 75 per cent reduced steering force at low speeds, automatic compensation for road unevenness, skidding detection and lane-departure assistance, this upgrade adds a first-of-its-kind emergency reaction capability to an already advanced system. Dynamic steering offers improved emergency stability during front tyre failures, reducing the risk of loss of control incidents.
A key safety feature, it adds to a smooth handling drive on uneven surfaces and in facing extreme weather, ultimately increasing accident prevention.
Dynamic Steering is available in numerous models including the FH, FH Aero, FMX and FM.
It is a benchmark for heavy truck safety innovation, with the modular architecture setting a repeatable template for Volvo’s future safety systems development and enhancement.
Judges noted, “There are multiple issues addressed with this technology, in particular, the ability to manage a failed steer tyre event by maintaining control of the vehicle as it decelerates down to stationary”; and “Any innovation that makes the driver’s role safer, particularly at times of critical stress, has to be seen as a great move forward for driver safety and reliability.”
We asked Volvo what innovation we could expect next, and they assured us there was lots cooking in the sustainable transport space!
We congratulate all the finalists in the Safety Innovation Award category for 2025: Cooler: Weight Distribution Modelling, CMV Truck & Bus: Pit Safety Cover and Volvo Trucks Australia: Auto Speed Limitation & Safety Zones.
It’s heartening to see so many members stepping up in the safety space and putting in innovative and technology-based solutions.