Adding safety technology to fleets of commercial trucks could lead to a drop in serious injury and fatality accidents in California. While the technology is currently optional, proponents are calling for its inclusion to become standard in new trucks to reduce the number of deaths and injuries that happen each year in large truck collisions.
Benefits of automatic emergency braking and advanced driver assistance systems
Safety technology, including automatic emergency braking and advanced driver assistance, has the potential to greatly reduce the number of fatalities and deaths in large truck crashes. Automatic emergency braking systems contain forward-collision warning technology and help to mitigate rear-end collisions. While this technology will be standard on most new cars by 2022, it will continue to be optional for trucks.
Advanced driver assistance systems include multiple types of safety technology like intelligent headlights, blind-spot detection and more. According to the vice president of security and safety at J.B. Hunt, the company installed forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems in 98% of its fleets. Since doing so, the company has experienced a 50% decline in the number of rear-end collisions and also has seen a reduction in the severity of accidents that have occurred.
Calls for making safety technology standard in trucks
To have trucks come with automatic emergency braking and other safety technology systems, companies must specify these optional features at the time that the trucks are ordered. Approximately 45% to 50% of trucks have automatic emergency braking installed. These systems do not prevent all crashes, but they do mitigate them. Proponents of making safety systems standard on new trucks have called for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to recommend it to manufacturers.
Large trucks are significantly heavier than passenger vehicles and require a greater stopping distance. Mandating safety technology in large trucks could reduce the number of fatalities and catastrophic injuries that happen each year. People who are seriously injured and the families of people who are killed in large truck accidents because of the negligence of the drivers may want to consult with truck accident lawyers to learn about their rights.
