Recent industry reports indicate there is some improvement in driver turnover rates while overall the shortage of drivers continues to worsen. That seems to suggest that while fleets may be unable to stem the tide of drivers leaving the industry or to fill new positions, good pay, bonuses, routing and scheduling programs along with new equipment have kept drivers from jumping seats.
Seats, quite literally, may also be a part of that equation. Anyone who spends 100,000 mi. or more per year driving a truck can tell you that an uncomfortable seat quickly leads to pain and fatigue, and that leads to downtime, a loss of productivity and efficiency, and reduced safety. Suppliers of the industry’s seating products have heard that too and are developing seats designed for improved comfort.
Bostrom Seating, part of Commercial Vehicle Group, offers the Wide Ride Core, built on its new generation Wide Ride II platform that features a 23-in.-wide seat cushion, a cushion extension, and titling front and rear cushions. A seat heater is optional as is a new smart seat memory function that enables drivers to quickly exit the vehicle by deflating air out of the seat suspension and upon returning enter with ease, then reinflate and return the seat to its previous height.
National Seating, also part of the Commercial Vehicle Group, offers seats with its BackCycler system, which cyclically inflates and deflates an air bladder in the lumbar area. By slowly filling and deflating the air bladder, the company notes, BackCycler slightly adjusts the driver’s lower back on a continual basis, helping keep blood flowing and muscles and ligaments from stiffening.
The Sears Comfort Atlas II truck seat features a back support structure contoured to the natural shape of the spine and a contoured seat pan that provides full body support. Atlas II has also improved the adjustment features of the seat cushion tilt and seat cushion extension, and offers an adjustable shock/damper system and a quad-chamber air lumbar system. The manufacturer’s Cushion Ventilation System provides a cooled seat and a Thermassage heat/massage option.
Seats Inc.’s Heritage product lineup includes seats with a two-way adjustable lumbar setting; a 15-deg. reclining backrest; and a 22-in., four-position seat cushion. Also available on some models are a smart seat memory valve suspension and heat and massage capabilities.
The Bose Ride system, available directly from the manufacturer for most Class 8 models and in new Freightliner and Volvo Trucks models, uses technology that senses, analyzes and counteracts forces from the road. The system includes sensors that detect motion thousands of times per second, algorithms to calculate a response, and an electromagnetic motor that repositions the driver relative to the cab floor to counteract unwanted motion, even at highway speeds.
To quantify the benefits of the Bose Ride System, a 2014 study with 73 drivers from three TCA member fleets looked at the impact of a reduction in exposure to jarring and shaking on driver fatigue and pain. Half of the drivers initially reported suffering from daily fatigue and pain levels serious enough to interfere with their work. An improved ride, it was noted by a majority of the drivers, increases safety, enables longer driving careers, gives them more energy at home, and requires less downtime.
