Case Study – B/A Products
Case Study
B/A Products
Background
Road safety is a critical concern, especially for emergency responders (police, medical, tow truck operators) and roadside workers. They face significant danger while performing their duties and it has become increasingly more dangerous due to increased distractions to drivers, especially with mobile phone usage.
B/A Products Co. (a provider of high-quality OEM grade towing and auto transportation equipment) has been a long-term proponent in helping push awareness of the Move Over Law since its inception in the United States in the early 2000’s. After twenty plus years and being adopted by all 50 states, the law has shown positive results, helping reduce fatalities in those states (FL, TX, NY, IL, GA) where it is strictly enforced. However, there are challenges impeding the effectiveness of the law:
Awareness: drivers remain unaware of the law or misunderstand when to change lanes or slow down.
Enforcement: varies significantly from state to state based on ability to monitor compliance and by limited resources needed to enforce.
Penalties: are not sufficient or stringent enough to deter violations, leading to continued non-compliance among drivers.
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Unfortunately, each year we still face hundreds of road traffic incidents, and it is estimated that a tow truck operator is struck and killed by a passing car on average every 6-7 days.
Moving Forward
While B/A will always support efforts to improve awareness and enforcement of the Move Over Law, we have never stopped at trying to find better ways at reducing the number of deaths of tow truck operators, auto transporters, first responders and other roadside operators.
B/A first ran across the AirBar and NuVech in early 2019 and what we saw was an innovative product, where its technology enhances the safety of roadside personnel. After meeting Sarah and Simon in person and learning the history of what motivated their drive, their mission aligned extremely well with our goals and objectives to find ways to enhance roadside safety.
To assess the impact of the AirBar, we ran it through extensive testing, including working with the State of Virginia’s Department of Transport on what drivers best react to. It was not surprising that drivers slowed down and physically moved over most when they came upon emergency service vehicles (police, ambulance, and fire) with their lights on. Numerous other methods were evaluated: our further testing consisted of a rollback style tow truck equipped with 2 drivers’ side AirBar’s, one behind the cab and the other behind the controls. Compared to all the other methods assessed to slow down drivers, the AirBar performed exemplary, being second only to emergency vehicles. In evaluating these results, we determined 3 primary benefits the AirBar provides essentially changing behavior of drivers:
AirBar installed is at an eye level position
Uncertainty of what was protruding into roadway, resulted in a higher percentage of drivers slowing and moving over
LED light and pattern capability enhanced visibility
Successes with the AirBar Stateside
B/A’s initial focus with AirBar was within the towing and auto transportation markets, which ultimately led to several new and expanding opportunities. One emerging market we identified was with service companies that assist vehicles that had stopped along roadways for various reasons (running out of fuel, breakdown, flat tires, etc.). An example is our partnership with the Southwest US region of AAA. In collaborating with them, the original installations included a single left side AirBar installed at the rear of the vehicle. After seeing the benefits along the roadways of the single unit, AAA decided to install a second AirBar to further increase safety. Once it was determined where the second was to be installed, the positioning provided an added benefit not previously understood. An AirBar installed at an alternative eye height truly increased the level of attention approach drivers displayed by the increased number of vehicles that slowed and moved over.
Toyota’s Northwest US region was another success story. Working through their Safety Manager, we developed a plan for how the AirBar could address their urban delivery concerns. B/A Products initially donated 4 AirBar’s (2 left and 2 right) to be installed on their trailer. Toyota tested the effectiveness of the AirBar in urban areas where the driver is required to stop along the roadway or center median to unload. Toyota observed that the presence of the AirBar’s considerably altered the behavior of approaching vehicles. As a result, Toyota decided to retrofit all existing trailers and that all future new trailers will require a 4-bar setup in the Northwest US region.
Learnings
Following the AirBar launch in the United Stated, B/A and NuVech continued to develop specific environmental solutions required in the wide ranging and new climates. For example, shortly after the installations started with AAA in the heat and high UV climates found in the US southwest, we realized extensive UV exposure was putting the AirBar material at risk. As a result, NuVech invested two years of research and development resulting in a high-grade UV Protected AirBar sleeve, specifically to withstand such extremes. Throughout dealing with this issue, the support and cooperation from Simon and Sarah to resolve the situation was outstanding. Their focus was to ensure what they developed was even better!
On-going Focus
B/A’s continued focus will be to expand the awareness and advantages that the AirBar offers to all emergency responders and where individuals are in harm’s way along roadways. B/A’s team believe in the AirBar and are looking forward to continued growth across the United States.
Final Thoughts
I have made the statement that it has truly been an adventure partnering with NuVech and I look forward to the next phase. I have found working with Sarah and Simon to be a pleasure and rewarding, as we have similar end goals on what we want a product needs to achieve. That alone makes it easy to collaborate with them, but we have also created an open and honest relationship built on trust, respect, and friendship.
February 2025
Craig Mech
President B/A Products
