The United States recorded 170,716 truck accidents in 2023. Out of these accidents, there were 86,842 injuries and 5078 deaths. You will be amazed to discover that 50% of accidents happened on low-quality rural roads and 4% in construction zones. Most accidents would not have happened if the drivers were sober and the trucks were in excellent condition.
America strives to curtail road accidents by enacting laws and encouraging technologies for curtailing and preventing accidents. Advanced technology prevents accidents and boosts safety. The following are five ways innovation can promote road usability and minimize accidents.
Real-Time Tracking
In the current trucking world, people expect every kind of news, from good to the worst. Advanced telematics and GPS tracking systems have changed the storyline, making positive trucking news a daily dose. These systems generate timely updates about the conditions and location of the trucks. They monitor driving behaviors to alert truck managers when drivers speed up, ignore traffic signals, tailgate, or change lanes erroneously.
Tracking systems also update you about fuel consumption and the condition of the roads. Truck managers can identify risk behaviors on time, preventing accidents attributed to cornering, acceleration, and braking. Furthermore, GPS tracking systems and telematics enable truck managers to plan the safest and most efficient routes, considering accident-triggering factors like road closures, heavy traffic, and bad weather.
Truck managers can utilize these systems to monitor and record driving hours for signs of driver fatigue. The systems transmit the generated alerts to fleet managers and drivers when driving exceeds the safe limits, encouraging rest breaks and preventing fatigue-related accidents.
Driver Inattention Impact Minimization
Driver inattention is a cognitive distraction that takes your mind off the driving activity. It is a highly neglected but influential cause of most road crashes. Superior technologies like collision alerts and automatic braking systems can detect hazards and react before accidents occur. They are highly applicable in situations involving distracted and slow-to-respond drivers.
Advanced radar, sensor, and camera systems monitor your truck's surroundings for road obstacles, sudden stops, and cut-in vehicles. They notify the driver after identifying such threats, enabling them to act and prevent accidents. When the driver fails to respond immediately, automatic braking systems can engage autonomously by applying brakes to reduce accident severity. These advanced technologies are safety nets that intervene during critical seconds to reduce the possibility of accidents.
Enhanced Truck Control
Unsafe road conditions, evasive movements, and sharp turns put truck drivers at risk of losing balance and head-to-head collisions. These conditions impact the stability and reliability of trucks, forcing the drivers to apply braking pressure that can lead to rollovers and skidding. Electronic stability control systems maintain truck stability on slippery roads and sudden maneuvers. Anti-lock braking system prevents wheel lock-ups during hard braking, ensuring the driver maintains steering control on wet and icy roads.
Traction control systems adjust the power channeled to each wheel, preventing spinning during acceleration on slippery surfaces. As for active steering assist, they adjust the truck steering to maintain control during sudden lane changes and tight cornering. An automatic load-leveling suspension adjusts the suspension, compensating for weight and load distribution changes. That prevents body roll and maximizes stability when transporting uneven or heavy loads.
Detects and Prevents Hazards on Time
Most accidents would barely happen when detected and averted on time. Automatic emergency braking and collision-avoidable systems ensure faster reaction times to minimize truck accidents. Advanced collision avoidance systems utilize radar, sensors, and cameras to scan the road for traffic flow changes and obstacles. They send prompt alerts through visual or audible signals, which allow them to react on time by adjusting truck speed or applying brakes.
Automatic emergency braking systems autonomously employ the brakes after sensing an impending crash. The quick intervention helps minimize accident occurrence or severity. The AEB initiates automatic braking when the traffic ahead suddenly slows down, or another vehicle cuts in front of your truck. Minimizing collisions or impacts with unforeseen obstacles can enhance driver and road user safety.
Improves Safety in Complex Driving Conditions
Driving on congested roads, low-lit, adverse weather, and hilly terrains increases truck accidents. You want to keep your truck drivers safe in these unfriendly terrains and conditions with advanced technologies. Adaptive cruise control and blind spot detection systems maintain constant vigilance to detect hazards on time and react to prevent accidents. Blind spot detection systems utilize sensors to monitor the truck surroundings the driver can barely see by themselves. They alert you on time to avert side collisions during lane merges and changes.
Adaptive cruise control systems adjust your truck's speed when traffic, weather, or terrain conditions change. These technologies help you maintain the recommended distance by speeding up or slowing down the vehicle when needed. The approach minimizes the possibility of rear-end collisions and lessens the strains on the drivers who rely on these systems to manage speed adjustments with minimal manual intervention.
Wrapping Up
Are you in the trucking industry and want to maximize the safety of your drivers, assets, and vehicles? Consider technologies for tracking drivers and trucks to minimize accidents. Track control systems help maximize the truck's safety and stability. Advanced technologies improve safety in complex driving conditions. That minimizes driver inattention impact and helps detect and prevent hazards.
