Once armoured vehicles were only associated with high-risk individuals or goods being transported. Now, armouring of vehicles is becoming more popular amongst ordinary citizens to protect oneself against carjackings and other crimes. Yet, this can create another risk for citizens of which they may not be aware.
The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, says depending on the type of armour this can add anything between 180kg to 500kg. “Armouring your vehicle can completely change the dynamics of its driving. The additional weight has several effects requiring drivers to adjust their driving style to compensate for this.
“Does this mean South Africans should stop armouring their vehicles? No, it does not – one should take the steps they think are best to reduce their risk. It does, however, require you to be fully prepared for how it will affect your driving with the help of armoured vehicle training,” says Herbert.
What will an armoured vehicle affect?
- Braking: to simplify Newton’s Law of Motion – the heavier the vehicle, the longer it will take to stop. By the number of South African drivers cutting in front of trucks that are stopping, it is likely many drivers do not understand how weight significantly affects braking distances.
The solution: drivers should learn about the effect on braking distance in a controlled environment to fully understand the importance of increasing following distances and understand how speeding becomes even more dangerous.
- Acceleration: the same Law also dictates how more weight requires more force to accelerate, affecting the time it takes to reach desired speeds.
The solution: if anticipation was important before (to avoid becoming a victim of crime and save fuel) it is just as important now. Additionally, be sure to armour your vehicle through OEM approved avenues to be sure it is capable of now supporting the extra effort required to move.
- Fuel economy: fuel economy will decrease significantly. It is estimated fuel consumption increases by 1-2% for every 25% added. If your fuel consumption was 10L/100km, and you increased your vehicle’s weight by 175kg, your fuel consumption would increase to 10,7 to 11,4L/100km.
The solution: learning to drive economically is part of armoured vehicle training and, consequently, reduce the impact your armoured vehicle has on your consumption as much as possible.
- Handling: increased weight affects the responsiveness of your steering which makes it more difficult to manoeuvre, affects cornering and increases chances of oversteer.
The solution: anticipation of conditions ahead, braking sooner and making slower, more careful movements are just a few ways in which one can adjust to the additional weight. There are additional ways to adjust to the change in handling and spending time becoming accustomed to the difference is also important.
These are just four ways an armoured vehicle can affect driving. “If you plan on armouring your vehicle, do not neglect to undertake the training to drive that vehicle safely,” says Herbert.
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