WHEELY-SAFE
ICELAND
Icelandic coach company and tour operator GTS says it has improved the safety of its operation and made significant financial savings since fitting its vehicles with Wheely-Safe technology. The family-run company is in the process of rolling out the in-motion wheel loss detection system, which combines brake and hub temperature monitoring with an intelligent tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), across its 40-strong coach fleet.
It has already proved a shrewd investment, according to GTS Owner Tyrfingur Guðmundsson. “We have had the system in place on around 10 of our coaches for just over a year now, and it has saved us from five potentially dangerous and costly wheel loss incidents,” he said. “It’s a brilliant system. On each occasion, the instant alerts were sent to the driver and allowed us to investigate and safely solve the problem without any incident. If you think about the damage each of those incidents would have caused, the financial savings are huge.”
GTS has been running coach tours in Iceland since 1969, transporting customers to all corners of the country. Having had several wheel loss incidents over the years, the business was keen to find a solution. It has opted for Wheely-Safe’s external TPMS sensors, which replace the valve cap and auto-pair with an in-cab solar receiver. These are fitted alongside a pair of wheel loss sensors, which can also monitor temperatures around the brakes and hub, on each wheel. The system has been fitted by the company’s in-house team of mechanics.
“This technology makes sense for us for so many reasons,” added Tyrfingur. “Obviously when you are transporting passengers, safety is the number one concern. The financial savings are also a major plus. The system is a one-stop solution that gives us confidence that everything in the wheel and tyre is operating as it should be.”
