Lens-Tech

Maximum vision

As peeper windows become more common, LensTech’s Hi-Vue lenses have become even more useful

FRESNEL LENSES

Lens-Tech has developed a solution to dramatically improve forward visibility on trucks fitted with peeper windows, effectively eliminating the blind spot created by windscreen pillars.

The company, which designs and builds Fresnel lenses for commercial vehicles, has begun applying its Hi-Vue lenses to peeper windows in the lower front doors of truck cabs, which have become increasingly popular since London’s Direct Vision Standard (DVS) came into force.

Positioned on the nearside peeper window in vertical format, the lens can improve forward visibility by 30 degrees.

It allows drivers to see into the area obscured by the windscreen pillar, improving their ability to spot anyone or anything close to the truck’s front left-hand corner.

“It’s very difficult to alleviate the blind spot created by the pillar, and a pedestrian or cyclist hidden behind it is extraordinarily vulnerable,” says Les Haigh, CEO of Lens-Tech.

“With the force majeure of FORS and the DVS requiring the maximum amount of vision from the driver’s seat, there’s a push towards getting those peeper windows into the doors. We’re discovering that there’s even more to be had from a lens in a peeper window, because of the huge blind spot zone behind that pillar, but if you attach our small A5 size lens to the glass in the right place, you’ll see around it.”

EASY APPLICATION

Lens-Tech’s Hi-Vue Fresnel lenses are made from PVC or acrylic, and are easy to stick to glass using their peel-back self-adhesive. Measuring 21cm x 12cm, they take up a nominal amount of window space.

The company’s lenses are fitted in the peeper windows of most new Daimler Trucks and Kenworth models produced in the US, and are issued by Highways England to the drivers of left-hand-drive trucks arriving at UK ports.

In trucks without peeper windows, they have traditionally been applied to the rear of the nearside passenger window in a horizontal format, to increase visibility below the door, as well as to vans, to improve the driver’s view along the nearside panel. No adaptation of the existing product is required for vehicles with peeper windows – it is simply a case of sticking the lens to the correct area of the glass.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE

“The reason we haven’t looked at this area until recently is because we didn’t want to place a lens in a position where it could obstruct the driver’s view of the mirrors,” adds business development manager Mike Eastwood. “Now that manufacturers are fitting peeper windows to trucks coming off the line, there is an opportunity for transport managers to consider enhancing that view even further.”

Hi-Vue lenses also represent a low-cost solution for operators looking to make their vehicles safer. Prices start at £7.99 excluding VAT for individual PVC lenses or £7.49 for orders of 10 or more units. Orders can be placed directly or via most of the UK’s truck component resellers.

For more information call 023 8021

3110 or visit lens-tech.com