Winding roads, rolling hills, fields and woods for miles in every direction: Siloam, North Carolina, is the home of Hardy Brothers Inc., whose fleet serves both coasts of the continental U.S. from these quiet surroundings.
โSince 1965, weโve been hauling dry goods out West, and bringing fresh produce back East,โ said Vice President Ryan Hardy. โUsually two days out, and two days back โ with a focus on professionalism and safety every mile of every day.โ
Hardy Brothers supports that safety emphasis with brakes and active safety technologies from Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, including Bendixโs flagship driver assistance system, Bendixยฎ Wingmanยฎ FusionTM, BendixTM BlindSpotterยฎ Side Object Detection System, and Bendixยฎ ADB22Xยฎ air disc brakes. The company also utilizes SafetyDirectยฎ by Bendix CVS, a back-office safety solution from the North American leader in the development and manufacture of active safety, air management, and braking solutions for commercial vehicles.
Hardy Brothersโ roots go further back than the company itself to Ryanโs grandfather Ralph Hardy, who purchased a 1948 Internationalยฎ for delivering lime to area farms. The operation expanded to dump trucks, then to providing produce on the East Coast, and eventually culminating in the current business model when Hardy Brothers was established 54 years ago. Today, Hardy Brothers employs 100 drivers, 25 shop and office workers, and runs a 53-tractor fleet of Kenworth T680s and 115 trailers. Over the last six years, the fleet has adopted Bendix air disc brakes on all axles, and has begun adding Bendixยฎ Wingmanยฎ FusionTM, which it currently equips on 20 trucks, along with BendixTM BlindSpotterยฎ Side Object Detection System.
โWeโve always invested heavily in safety technology, training, and equipment, whether itโs for our employees in the shop and office, or for our drivers on the road,โ Ryan Hardy said. โItโs always been a company-wide top priority, so we spec for safety, offer safety bonuses for our technicians and drivers, and hold quarterly safety training sessions for both.โ
Earlier this year, Hardy Brothers was honoured with the FS Insurance, Ltd. Safety Achievement Award โ one reflection of its efforts. Another indicator, Hardy said, can be found in the impact safety technologies have had on the road.
โEven though we train our drivers to be safe, courteous, and professional, weโre all human; and we also canโt control everyone and everything else on the highways,โ Hardy said. โIt only takes a split second for an accident to occur, and with Wingman, the system has our backs and helps to keep everybody safe.โ
Bendix Wingman Fusion gathers input through radar, video, and the vehicleโs braking system, combining and cross-checking the information from sensors that are working together. By creating a detailed and accurate data picture, Fusion delivers enhanced rear-end collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control, along with following distance alerts, stationary object alerts, lane departure warning, alerts when speeding, and braking on stationary vehicles โ all while prioritizing alerts to help reduce driver distraction. Event-based data โ including video โ can be wirelessly transmitted for driver coaching and analysis by fleet safety personnel.
Fusion also helps drivers avoid some additional crash situations, including rollovers, loss- of-control, and sideswipe crashes, since it is built on the foundational technology of the Bendixยฎ ESPยฎ Electronic Stability Program full-stability technology.
The forward-facing camera of Wingman Fusion is powered by the Mobileyeยฎ System-on- Chip EyeQยฎ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms.
ย ย
โIf Bendixยฎ Wingmanยฎ FusionTM has prevented one collision in our fleet, it has paid for itself,โ Hardy said, โand a couple of our drivers have told us that it has engaged and likely prevented some rear-end incidents. You canโt argue better than that for investing in safety.โ
Hardy Brothers complements Wingman Fusion with SafetyDirectยฎ by Bendix CVS, its video-based driver safety platform featuring a user-friendly web portal that provides fleet operators with comprehensive feedback on their fleet and drivers, along with videos of severe events. The system wirelessly transmits real-time data and event-based information from a vehicleโs J1939 network to the fleetโs back office for analysis. In March, Bendix introduced the powerful new fifth generation of the processor platform.
The fleet also specs BendixTM BlindSpotterยฎ โ a side-radar system designed to alert drivers to vehicles or objects in adjacent lanes to help drivers mitigate sideswipe crashes. BlindSpotter operates independently of the Wingman Fusion system.
At its wheel-ends, the fleet equips Bendixยฎ ADB22Xยฎ air disc brakes with the Bendixยฎ Splined Discยฎ rotor. Drum brakes can fade during heavy stop-and-go traffic situations or during mountain descents, and can extend stopping distances as they heat up. Air disc brakes, on the other hand, virtually eliminate brake fade, provide shorter stopping distances, and deliver greater reliability with more consistent stops. They also prove their worth in the shop through longer friction life and quicker pad changes than drum brakes.
โItโs been well worth the upcharge to get the air disc brakes because of the duration we can run these pads and the time between maintenance intervals,โ said Justin Lewis, Hardy Brothersโ maintenance director. โItโs phenomenal โ a no-brainer, really. The air disc brakes are a huge time saver, in addition to the performance advantages, which make even more sense in support of our investment in the advanced safety systems.โ
โWeโve partnered with Bendix for a long time โ even before air disc brakes โ and have always been impressed with their quality,โ Lewis said. โDowntime is costly to any company, and with Bendix, we never really have to worry about it. And beyond their components, weโve gotten great service and support and training โ both online and in person.โ
Lance Hansen, Bendix North America regional vice president โ fleet/trailer sales and service engineering, said while Hardy Brothers may be based in a quiet and remote area, the fleet sends a loud and clear message of safety thatโs recognized and respected industrywide.
โTheir whole team is incredibly professional and completely dedicated to safety, people, and the transportation industry, and itโs inspiring to work with them to develop safer commercial vehicles and enhance the safety of the roads we all share,โ Hansen said. โThey do far more than talk a good game: Every day, theyโre taking steps to make things better, and that makes them the kind of partner we value the most as we shape tomorrowโs transportation together.โ
Bendix emphasizes that no technology can replace a safe, alert, professional driver practicing safe driving habits, supported by proactive, ongoing driver training. Active safety systems are not intended to enable or encourage aggressive driving, and responsibility for safe vehicle operation remains with the driver at all times.
For nearly 90 years, Bendix has aimed to lower the total cost of commercial vehicle ownership, and strengthen return on investment in technologies that make travel safer for all who share the road. The company delivers on safety, vehicle performance, and efficiency โ areas critical to the success of fleets and owner-operators โ through an ever-growing portfolio of technology developments, along with unparalleled post-sales support.
Source: Bendix
