US vs. European lorry

The glory of road travel has never gone unnoticed in films. Thanks to films like "Duel" (1971), many admire the beauty of US lorries for their spectacular designs, with long noses covered in chrome and the powerful roar of their engines.

This type of lorry is still used across America. Not only in the US, but also in most Latin American countries, except for Chile, Argentina and Peru, which use both US and European lorries. The widespread use of the US lorry model is probably due to the influence of the US in Latin America, given the proximity of North America to Central and South America. In addition, many US multinationals are already operating in Central and South America. Likewise, both share the absence of restrictions to the total length of the tractor and semi-trailer.

All in all, the different types of lorries are designed to carry goods from one place to another. However, there are noteworthy differences between US and European lorries, not only in their exterior appearance and design, but also when driving them. European models feature all sorts of electronic and driver assistance systems designed to optimise driving performance and safety.  In turn, US lorries still have the traditional cabs with dashboards that feature many different analogue indicators or elements operated with pneumatic systems, such as the emergency brakes of the tractor unit and trailer.

To this end, training US lorry drivers can be even more complex, since the trainee needs to learn about the check routines of the pneumatic system, understand the operating range of a Fuller gearbox, the optimum RPM level at which to run the engine run and the best way to use the trailer brake handle.

The effort of LANDER's team to understand the actual operational situation of each client has led the company to the recent analysis and assessment of how the differences between both types of lorries can have a big impact on training and the resulting development of the driver's skills.

To this end, LANDER has taken advantage of the trust placed by Cementos Progreso (Guatemala) in the company to develop a heavy vehicle driving simulator adapted to US lorry models. Therefore, LANDER fully caters to the training needs in this segment and market, offering two driving simulator alternatives: the US lorry simulator already operating in Cementos Progreso versus the European lorry, used by VOLVO in Peru, among other clients.

We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to our clients for the opportunity they give us in providing solutions that meet their training needs. We hope to announce the installation of simulators in new clients in the upcoming weeks, who will join the list of LANDER partners in the goods transportation sector.