Ahead of the commercial launch of Scania‘s connected driver vest, it is being displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

The Scania C-me vest is a connected safety vest that features automatic lightning when exiting the cab. If the driver falls while outside the truck and becomes inactive, the Scania C-me‘s sensor will trigger a call for help.

Final verification tests are now being performed before the vest will be available at European Scania dealers in the northern summer of 2019.

The patented vest, developed on behalf of Scania by Swedish start-ups Light Flex and Imagimob, addresses a growing concern about work in the vicinity of the truck.

Professional driving is a highly hazardous activity, involving risks far higher than those encountered in virtually any other occupation or most other activities of daily life. As noted in an EU report, drivers have a lot of additional tasks to perform such as loading and unloading of vehicles, coupling and uncoupling trailers, checking and making sure that cargo is appropriately secured, checking and maintaining their vehicles before starting their next journey. All these activities can pose risks to drivers.

In Europe, transport and storage constitute the third most common work activity in fatal accidents. A Danish study has confirmed that falls from heights causing fractures among truck drivers are commonplace. Analysis shows that major triggering factors for falls from heights on and around the truck are stepping off the edge at height, wrong footing and loss of balance.

The sensor fitted in the C-me collar automatically detects when the driver exits the cab and the vest is automatically lit, optionally with blinking or steady lights. The sensor also detects if the driver is inactive after a rapid involuntary movement such as a fall. This triggers the connected app to allow the driver to send a text alert to a pre-set emergency number while also relaying the GPS position.

The Android app, named Sense, can also display user data such as battery status, the number of times the cab has been entered and exited, and other relevant information.

The vest is reversible with one hi-vis lit side and the other a more neutral grey. Even without the lighting features, it meets all the set European legal Class 2 requirements for hi vis protective clothing. The vest is washable when the electronics in the collar are removed.

“We see that the vest can enhance safety not only for truck drivers but also in many other vulnerable occupations as well,” says Jonas Svanholm, director, X-Lab, Scania Connected Services and Solutions.