From Demopark and Rescue Chain to NUFAM Challenge and Truck Driver Forum
NUFAM - the trade fair for commercial vehicles at Messe Karlsruhe takes place from 21 to 24 September. The supporting programme offers plenty for truck drivers.
For the eighth time, NUFAM - the tradefair for commercial vehicles fair will take place in Karlsruhe from 21 to 24 September. NUFAM is a leading trade fair for the commercial vehicle industry and combines current technology with mobility concepts of the future. It is already clear that NUFAM 2023 will be the largest edition in its history. In addition to over 400 exhibitors and an exhibition area of 80,000 square metres, the commercial vehicle trade fair offers everything to do with commercial vehicles. In addition, NUFAM also impresses with numerous hands-on activities, lectures, information and more for professional drivers.
Load securing and Truck Driver Forum
Everything that affects truck drivers is the subject of the main forum in the action hall. The concept of load securing, for example, will be the main topic on Saturday, 23 September. The Königsberger Ladungssicherungskreis (KLSK) will offer four lectures on the subject of "Incorrect load distribution and its possible consequences" from 10.30 am to 4.15 pm. The lectures are conducted as team teaching and last about 75 minutes each. The KLSK is a non-profit association with more than 350 members from Germany and Europe.
On Sunday, 24 September, commercial vehicle journalist Thomas Rosenberger will moderate the forum. The thematic focus will be on road safety. During the three discussion rounds in the Truck Driver Forum, experts will talk about the causes as well as the consequences of accidents and suggest how to combat their causes - be it rear-end collisions on the motorway or collisions with cyclists when turning right in cities.
"Healthy living on the road. Self-therapy is not the solution".
The health of drivers in particular plays an essential role in road safety. Poor nutrition, too little sleep and stress are the order of the day "on the road". But they damage health in the long term and can be the cause of road accidents. Many professional drivers still underestimate the consequences of illness and medical emergencies on the road. If something does happen on the road, there are often no possibilities to get medical care. The DocStop association is fighting to change this situation. Representatives of DocStop will discuss with professional drivers, entrepreneurs and experts from BG Verkehr, among others, the importance of health and how the poor situation on the road can be improved.
"Against dying at the end of traffic jams - effectively combating causes and using technology correctly".
Rear-end collisions at the end of traffic jams can in most cases be attributed to a momentary lapse of concentration on the part of the driver and in many cases end with fatal consequences for those involved. Distraction and microsleep, often triggered by stress, are almost exclusively responsible. Modern technology in trucks is supposed to help prevent accidents. But this is not always successful. Accident research is looking for answers and has just discovered a new phenomenon. In about six percent of all serious truck rear-end collisions on motorways, trucks collided with mobile warning signs indicating daytime road works. Some emergency brake assistance systems apparently only react to the truck in front of the advance warning trailer - and therefore do not brake in time. Now, a new type of communication system is supposed to warn drivers earlier.
"Wide awake at 80 km/h"
Dieter Schäfer knows enough about these accidents from his professional work as a motorway police officer. With the prevention association Hellwach mit 80 km/h e.V., he is committed to sharpening the danger radar of professional drivers. Professional drivers and transport companies as well as representatives of the truck industry and the motorway operating company discuss with him in order to find solutions.
The initiative "Hellwach mit 80 km/h" (Wide awake at 80 km/h) was founded in 2019 and has since been drawing attention to the problems and challenges in the stressful everyday working life of drivers. According to the association that emerged from the initiative, in more than 80 per cent of cases the use of a smartphone is responsible for a rear-end collision involving truck drivers at the end of a traffic jam. Mannheim logistics companies and freight forwarders are fighting against these "deadly sins". According to the association, the focus of the presentation at NUFAM is the multilingual educational brochure with the ten Max Eighty Rules.
"This is our second time at NUFAM. We have a unique opportunity here to meet not only the drivers, but all the players involved in the supply chain, in order to convince them to work together to curb truck accidents at the end of traffic jams," says Dieter Schäfer, board member and spokesman for the "Hellwach mit 80 km/h" prevention association.
"Getting under the wheels. Why there are only losers when turning right".
Almost every road user has seen them: the white ghost bikes. They stand wherever a cyclist has been killed in a traffic accident and are intended to warn of the risk of accidents caused by trucks turning right at dangerous intersections. Although there are now turning assistants, these accidents happen again and again. The expert panel during NUFAM, together with technical experts, lawyers, professional drivers, emergency counsellors as well as representatives of prevention organisations and cyclists' representatives, will clarify causes and look for solutions. Because there are only losers in these tragic accidents: cyclists who are torn from their lives and professional drivers who often suffer from the consequences for the rest of their lives, can no longer practise their profession, are confronted with severe legal consequences and are exposed to psychological stress that can turn into depression and addiction if left untreated.
Dekra truck simulator
Drivers of trucks or emergency vehicles bear great responsibility for the safety of all those involved in road traffic. They must be able to control their vehicle even under difficult traffic, road or weather conditions. Yet they are often inadequately prepared. The reason: many critical situations cannot be trained in advance - neither in the vehicle nor on the road. One way of experiencing these situations in a safe environment and finding possible solutions is the DEKRA truck simulator. With the use of the innovative, versatile driving simulator and the "ProFahrT" qualification programme, the DEKRA Academy aims to close this "safety gap". The programme ensures high training success not least because it always focuses on the driver and his practice - and not on the vehicle. The simulator will be available for testing in the trade fair atrium for the entire duration of the event.
NUFAM Demo Park and Rescue Chain
The full range of commercial vehicles will be on display at the exhibitors' vehicle presentations in the NUFAM Demo Park. Well-known manufacturers present their latest vehicles in action and amaze the spectators. The rescue chain on Saturday will be exciting and informative. Here it will be shown how various partners work hand in hand in the event of a truck accident. The rescue chain has been a real crowd puller in the past and will continue to be so in the future. As a special highlight, Alex Gräff, one of Germany's best-known professional drifters, will show all his skills in the Demo Park and draw creative donuts on the asphalt with his racing car.
Pilot project of the roadside inspection service
The Roadside Inspection Service (SKD) of the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM) is designed to detect conspicuous features on heavy goods vehicles in order to curb dangers. As part of the pilot project "SKD-Digital", the use and interaction of various sensor systems and procedural software were investigated. The aim of these technologies is to detect conspicuous features as they pass. Until now, this was only possible when vehicles were examined while stationary. The aim of the project is also to reduce standing times of truck drivers.
At NUFAM, BALM will present two inspection vehicles. In addition, interested parties will have the opportunity to ask questions on the subject of inspections and to find out about the latest inspection technologies such as the "SKD-Digital" project.
NUFAM Challenge
The "King or Queen of the Travellers" will be determined at the NUFAM Challenge. Starting in August, there will be preliminary questions on the NUFAM website that participants in the competition can answer. The best eight participants will then be invited to NUFAM at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre and will compete against each other on the Saturday of the trade fair. The NUFAM Champion and thus the best professional driver in Germany will be determined there.
If you are a fan of trucks and like to have them in a smaller format in your living room, bedroom or anywhere else, you will find what you are looking for at the Truck Model Exchange. Small vehicles on a scale of 1:87 are sold in the action hall of the Karlsruhe trade fair.
Forums on charging infrastructure and telematics
Exciting presentations on the topics of charging infrastructure and digital services & telematics will be held at the NUFAM forums on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the trade fair. The forums will be moderated by trade journalist Marcus Walter. The presentations will cover topics such as "Telematics & Workshop 4.0 - Fleet Management with Artificial Intelligence", "AI-based Demand Forecasting for Transport Logistics" or "The Future of Hydrogen: How to Convert Vehicle Fleets Step by Step". More information on the content of the forums is available HERE. The entire NUFAM programme is available at nufam.de/programme.
