It was on 11th december 2014, my birthday; i decided to go for a casual highway faning on NH4 highway just as a part of my birthday celebrations. My usual highway faning spot are either on the Belgaum - Dharwad or on the Belgaum - Kolhapur Stretch of the NH4 Highway. Cruising along the Belgaum - Kolhapur stretch suddenly my eyes were locked on to this VOLVO FM 12 truck parked besides the highway near a Petrol Pump on the NH4. I parked by two wheeler near to the fuel pump, the truck seemed locked, as there was no one on the truck. I waited on my two wheeler near a small dhaba (hotel) near to the pump, as i was interested to meet the crew of the truck to know more about the VOLVO FM truck.
After waiting there for around 10 minutes, i saw a person with his clothes on hand walking towards the truck, it seemed he had gone for a bath and to fresh up. The Indian truck drivers undertake very long journeys on the highways, travelling thousands of kilometers stretching from South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh to North Indian States, West and East and also North East India. The continuous tedious driving makes them very tired, they sometimes rest and sleep inside their vehicles parking them besides highways or on roadside small hotels called dhaba's , where they take food, sleep and and rest.
With a zeal for knowledge i approached to the person may be in his early 50's . By the time i reached the Truck, he was inside the truck. I just signaled him with a hello and introduced myself and told him that i am an ardent Bus and HCV (Heavy Commercial Vehicle) Fan and i want to take photographs of the truck and want to know more about the truck. With a friendly smile and gesture he welcomed me and told that i can very well take as many pics i want. His name is Jabiullah, and is basically a resident of Mumbai.
Here are some initial pics of the VOLVO FM12 Truck that i clicked :
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 1 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 2 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 3 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 4 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 5 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 6 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 7 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 8 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 9 |
Interiors of the VOLVO FM12 Truck Cab :
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 10 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 11 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 12 |
After a few clicks of the VOLVO FM 12 Truck, Jabiullah insisted me for a cup of tea at the small dhaba besides the highway. I accompanied him to the dhaba and sat with face to face with him with many questions to ask him about the truck and his profession.
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 13 |
Jabiullah told me that he started his Truck driving from the year 1986, with TATA and Ashok Leyland Trucks. Later in 1992 he went to Saudi Arabia, where he got a chance to drive trucks for a carrier company. He stayed in Saudi Arabia for 5 years from 1992 to 1997, where he drove VOLVO and Mercedes benz Trucks on Saudi Highways. He further said that he had very nice driving experience in Saudi.
He returned to India in 1998 and since then have been driving on Indian Highways across States and Union Territories. He told me that many truck companies owning VOLVO dont service their vehicles on time, due to which they are in poor conditions. Secondly he also explained me about the expensive parts of VOLVO, which i am already aware of in case of VOLVO Buses. He told that many Truck owners and carrier operators dont take VOLVO Trucks, since they cant bear the high rates of the parts later. Its very difficult to maintain a VOLVO Truck fleet in India, with proper maintenance and servicing, says Jabiullah.
Apart from some important points we also discussed about the latest range of VOLVO Trucks launched in India viz., VOLVO FH, VOLVO FM, VOLVO FMX. When asked he told that he was very anxious to drive the mamoth VOLVO FH 530 HP.
We finished our tea discussing things for around half an hour and soon it was time for Jabiullah to leave for Mumbai as he was getting late, the fact that he was driving all alone from Chennai to Belgaum and ahead all the way to Mumbai.
As we headed toward the truck, i thought of taking a few more pics, before bidding goodbye to him.
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 14 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 15 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 16 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 17 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 18 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 19 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 20 |
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 21 |
Jabiullah posing with his VOLVO FM12 Truck :
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| VOLVO FM 12 380 HP TRUCK - PIC 22 |
You need to look around the whole Europe.
ReplyDeleteCause after Scania its Volvo who is doing well!
I do keep a watch on the newsroom of both Scania and VOLVO websites.
DeleteScania and VOLVO are both are doing well... But i am very much impressed by Scania's concept of Ecolution and also their latest SCR engines with Euro 6 emission standards....