The size and mass of a commercial truck make it a particularly dangerous vehicle if it collides with another automobile. Truck companies have been trying to minimize crashes by installing safety technologies on their trucks. These systems have been operating on trucks for a number of years and the results have been encouraging, though this new tech has not been able to prevent all crashes.
Work Truck has posted an article detailing a number of safety measures truck companies can take to reduce their number of crashes, which includes outfitting various technologies on their trucks.
A look at truck safety systems
Truck technologies consist of systems that alert a truck driver to dangerous situations and automatically correct the course of the truck to avoid a collision. A lane departure warning system alerts a trucker when the truck is drifting out of a lane. An adaptive cruise control system helps keep the truck a safe distance from other automobiles and to avoid speeding. An emergency braking system alerts a driver and slows down the truck.
According to the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, installing these technologies on trucks has had a positive result on reducing the instances of truck crashes. The agency conducted research that found a 47% reduction in truck accidents, a drop of nearly half of truck crashes.
Crashes still occur with safety tech
Even though installing new technology on commercial trucks has generated promising results, it does not always stop accidents. Even with driver assistance programs and lane departure warnings, a trucker may still collide with one or more vehicles if the driver is not paying sufficient attention to the road.
Still, these new technologies may make a crucial difference in an accident. A lane departure warning can alert a driver to begin to slow down. An emergency braking system can decelerate a truck so that its impact is not as devastating. The data recording systems on the truck could also provide information on how the accident occurred and help trucking companies avoid a similar accident in the future.
Not all truck companies use safety tech
Unfortunately, there are trucking companies that do not install safety systems in their fleets. Some do not want to invest the up-front expenses to upgrade their trucks. Still, spending more money on driver assistance programs may prevent costlier and potentially deadly truck accidents. The fact that not all trucks have safety tech should keep all drivers on alert when they approve a large commercial truck.
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