Trucking is a vitally important business in the United States, as trucks are ultimately responsible for moving the vast majority of our goods. However, trucking can also be a dangerous business, and truck accidents recently reached their highest levels in 29 years. Thankfully, technology is evolving to the point that it is making commercial trucks much safer. Here is a quick look at three ways this is happening.
Adaptive Cruise Control
Everyone knows that cruise control in cars can help to control their speed and reduce accidental speeding. Adaptive cruise control is a relatively new feature which uses cameras and sensors to ensure that a truck never gets too close to another car on the road, while still maintaining as consistent a speed as possible. This is vitally important because according to The Law Offices of George Salinas, semi-trailer trucks are difficult to control and slow down because of the heavy freight they haul. This leads to a lot of accidents. Adaptive cruise control takes these factors into account when setting speed and controlling a tuck.
Cameras
Cameras are helping trucks become safer in multiple ways. First, cameras are becoming extremely sensitive, capable of identifying hazards on the road and plugged in with other safety features. As a result, the information gleaned from cameras is a critical component of a truck’s overall safety profile. Additionally, dash cams can now monitor a driver’s safety and alert their company if they are operating their truck in a manner that is unsafe. This rewards safe drivers and helps to take unsafe ones off the road.
Autonomous Driving Capabilities
According to Best Online Traffic School, more than 90 percent of accidents are caused by driver error. Cars that can drive themselves could dramatically reduce these numbers. Thanks to technological advances, it is becoming more possible for autonomous features to take over certain driving responsibilities from humans. This includes automatic braking, lane guidance which can keep a truck from drifting into another lane, automated parking and more. Completely autonomous cars won’t be available for some time, but the technology is evolving to the point that cars and trucks are becoming capable of controlling for the errors that their human drivers make.
Over the course of history, technological advances have made humans much safer while increasing our productivity. Thankfully, those advances are vastly improving the safety of the trucks which move the majority of our goods across the country. In the future, we are very likely to see even more of these safety features.
