I once crashed my car.
It was a stupid mistake, my teenage self tempting fate by going ever so slightly over the speed limit on a dirt road.
Taking a corner, it wasn’t long before my wheels got the best of me and suddenly, I was spinning out of control.
While the front end of my 2004 Ford Focus went head on into a sand bank, luckily, my braking system enabled me to stop the vehicle from ploughing into a sea of trees.
Since that day, I have always ensured that my brakes are well-maintained and take pride in getting them serviced.
While a top-notch braking system is imperative for cars, it’s even more critical that the trucks heading down Australian roads are fully equipped.
Data from Transport for NSW indicates that a B-double travelling at just 40km/h can take up to 44 metres to stop. If travelling at 60km/h, that same truck would need approximately 90 metres to come to a standstill.
Imagine if the brakes weren’t up to speed?
Sitting down with renowned service technician Shane Pendergast from Air Brake Systems in Sydney, he warned of the importance of these systems.
“You may only ever call upon that safety system once in your whole driving career, just once,” Pendergast told OwnerDriver.
“And the day you call upon that system to work, you need it to work. It may be the only thing to get you home safe to your family.”
Shane earned the prestigious Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence back in 2023, as recognition for the work he’s done both in his service role and in educating the industry around EBS and rollover systems.
Working in the industry for decades, Pendergast has managed to pick up a tip or two that he feels are incredibly important.
“Don’t ever ignore a warning light on your dashboard,” he cautions.
“The warning light is there for a reason – it’s to tell you that the system has got a fault in it and don’t ignore it.”
He says one of the major issues he has come across is drivers ignoring the signs that indicate that something is clearly wrong.
“Whether they’ve been driving for six months or 50 years, some drivers think that everything will just be ok, but that’s not the case,” he says.
“You need to be vigilant and constantly checking to make sure it is up to scratch.”
One of his biggest takeaways is servicing the braking systems every time the trailer is serviced.
For those who have purchased the diagnostics and the connection cases to do the diagnostics every time a trailer is serviced, this is made even easier.
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“Every time a trailer is serviced, a fault free download from that trailer is captured,” he says.
“This is the perfect opportunity to double-check the systems and something that I always teach for fleet training.
“Also, if you feel that something is wrong, get involved. Ring, call. Keep calling. Don’t let a small problem develop into a huge problem.”
While Pendergast can only do so much when it comes to educating drivers, he dedicates a lot of his time to teaching the next generations of service technicians.
“My speciality is EBS braking and roll stability control systems, focusing on the maintenance, upkeep and education around the systems,” he says.
“That’s now developed into a lot of my time spent actually training mechanics how to maintain them and keep them working.”
One of the best ways to ensure the newcomers will be successful, he says, is to get them excited about the work.
“The first thing with our current generation is to try and get them enthusiastic, because if you don’t have a passion for your chosen trade, you just shouldn’t be involved at all,” he says.
He says the fast-tracked way of building this excitement is by walking them through the history of the trade and the industry as a whole.
“Most people that are involved in transport do have a passion for trucks and trailers and machines and engines and all that stuff, so it does go hand-in-hand,” Pendergast says.
“But I will sit with them, find out their favourite brand or truck, and then use that as a way to start teaching and training them about technology in a way that will get them interested.”
His methods have been proven to work, accumulating praise and accomplishments over the years that are a signal of the work he has done.
“I just want to ensure that every truck that hits the road is safe, and that the driver will make it home,” he says.
“Being able to share years and years of experience to younger guys is just so enlightening.”
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