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The location and operation of instruments and controls herein described are recommended for adoption by manufacturers of trucks and truck-tractors in new or revised designs in order to avoid confusion when drivers shift from one truck to another, to promote safety and convenience, and to simplify design, production, and servicing. This recommended practice shall apply to all on-highway trucks and truck-tractors equipped with power brake systems and having a GVW rating of 26 000 lb or more. Of prime importance in this recommended practice is the basic premise that all controls requiring operation while the vehicle is in motion be located so that the driver can manipulate them with his right hand and keep his left hand on the steering wheel. Controls operated only when the vehicle is not in motion, such as the ignition key, starter switch, and engine shutdown, may be located at the left side of the instrument panel and be manipulated with the driver's left hand.

This SAE Recommended Practice establishes three alternate methods for describing and evaluating the truck driver's viewing environment: the Target Evaluation, the Polar Plot and the Horizontal Planar Projection. The Target Evaluation describes the field of view volume around a vehicle, allowing for ray projections, or other geometrically accurate simulations, that demonstrate areas visible or non-visible to the driver. The Target Evaluation method may also be conducted manually, with appropriate physical layouts, in lieu of CAD methods. The Polar Plot presents the entire available field of view in an angular format, onto which items of interest may be plotted, whereas the Horizontal Planar Projection presents the field of view at a given elevation chosen for evaluation. These methods are based on the Three Dimensional Reference System described in SAE J182a.