Welp MagazineEvery single year, there are about 500,000 truck accidents in the U.S., with about 5,000 of them being deadly. Trucks are hard to control, and if you deal with unexpected scenarios on the road as well, then you’re at higher risk of an accident. Many accidents happen on roads instead of rural areas, and contrary to popular belief, most of them happen on dry roads rather than wet and slippery ones.
But even though truck accidents are so likely to happen, technology has evolved to the point where drivers can now have safety features to prevent accidents. Various protocols are popping up and offer better safety for truck drivers. Here are a few examples of such technologies:
1. Rear-View Cameras
Having good visibility is a must on the road – not seeing something in due time may lead to a terrible accident. People who drive large trucks find visual limitations a very big issue, and they need a solution to make sure they do not end up causing an accident.
Well, with the latest technology, we now have rear-view cameras. They offer the truck driver a better view of the back of the truck and even let the driver see blind spots. Even better, they come with live audio feeds that are synchronized with the feedback from the cameras and relayed into one LCD screen with high resolution.
2. Electronic Stability Control
Electronic stability control or ESC is great for detecting potential defects of the truck. When your vehicle has vehicular defects, the road accident risk is instantly higher, so with ESC, you can detect the problem on time and make sure you fix it before something tragic happens.
They work similarly to driver alert systems. They look at the steering wheel activity and tire movement over time and it checks for loss of traction and slippage signs. As soon as it detects a problem, the system will perform a few actions such as lowering the vehicle’s engine power or decreasing the truck’s speed.
3. Driver Alert Systems
Truck drivers are only allowed to drive for 11 hours at a time according to federal regulations. Unfortunately, not all truck drivers respect this rule, and fatigue is very likely to occur, leading to accidents.
Driver alert systems can be very useful in this regard, as they will detect the drowsiness of a driver and give them the warning to make them get off the road. The system is amazing in preventing accidents.
This detection device works by evaluating the time of the day, the trip’s length, the frequency of turn signal use, as well as the steering behavior of the driver over time. So, if the system detects that the driver is exhausted, it will give a warning.
The Bottom Line
The new technologies can help prevent truck accidents, especially in areas with deadly accidents like Texas. 3,870 fatal truck accidents took place in the U.S. in 2019, with 517 being only in Texas. So, if you live in a Texas city like Carrollton and go through a truck accident, you should hire a Carrollton truck accident attorney. But to be on the safe side and prevent an unfortunate situation, you may want to incorporate the technologies listed here.
