Japan Cabover

Cab-over is also known as Cab Over Engine , cab forward (U.S.), or forward control, it is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a perpendicular front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting above (or forward of) the front axle. Theses difference with the conventional truck, and where the engine is mounted in front of the driver. This truck configuration is presently common among European, Japanese and Chinese truck manufacturers, because the laws governing overall vehicle lengths are strict and the body style allows longer trailers (in the case of a tractor-trailer truck) or a longer cargo area (in the case of a "straight" truck, a truck with a single rigid frame supporting all components and the load) for the same overall length. Cab over engine types controls urban and light-duty use, with conventional trucks predominating in remote and off road areas. Both types are common for highway use. There is various type of cab-over model available such as Dyna Truck cab over, Atlas cab over, Dutro cab over, ELF Truck cab over, and Titan cab over etc. 

History: The first truck in the US was established by Autocar since 1899 using a format then called "engine-under-the-seat" and was presented with optional 5 or 8 horsepower motors, The introduction of the first modern cab-over layout in the United States is credited to industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost, who, with engineer Ray Spiller, designed a cab-over truck for the White Motor Company in 1932. White-Freightliner announced its first tilting cab-over design in 1958, which permitted the complete cab to tilt forward for access to the engine.

Design aspects: In Class 8 tractors, the cab-over design allows the vehicle's wheelbase to be shorter than in the linear arrangement. Its shorter wheelbase allows cab-over semi trucks to have a shorter overall length, thus allowing for longer trailers to be used. For light- and medium-duty solid- or rigid-axle trucks, the cab-over design needed short length for the cab and engine, in a given wheelbase, and therefore allows a greater length of the truck body or load area. The tilting cab gives moderately clear access to the engines, its use causes unsecured items in the cab and sleeper to fall onto the windshield or under the instrument panel.

Safety: In early time cab-over models, the lack of a safe crumple zone in the front made them far more risky in the event of a crash. A modern design uses stiffening beams in the doors to help prevent fall down during a front-end collision, steering columns are normally collapsible, all models contained seat belts, and some models are outfitted with airbags. All of these features improve occupant safety during a collision. In military use, the COE design increases the chance of crew injury or death in the event of running over a landmine. This is because the tire that blows ups the mine is directly below/beside the driver.