Car safety technology has brought about a great improvement in terms of the reduction of highway accidents, and manufacturers are continually looking to improve their offerings in this area. When it comes to trucking safety, technology has not come quite as far. That may be changing, though, as more and more fleets add safety technology to their fleets and federal regulators explore the issue.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency responsible for writing and enforcing safety standards and regulations concerning motor vehicle safety, has been discussing the issue of adding safety technology to commercial trucks similar to what is now being offered for cars: automatic braking and parking, improved warning signals and veracious other safety features.

Safety features such as automatic braking and improved warning signals could play a large role in combating driver fatigue, which is a major issue in the world of trucking safety. Driver fatigue, though not the only cause of truck accidents, plays a part often enough that federal regulators need to tackle the issue from multiple angles. Federal hours of service regulations are one avenue, while safety technology could be another. 

It will be interesting to see how federal regulators deal with this issue in the coming months and years, as well as how the private industry handles the issue. There is no doubt that trucking companies could benefit from preventing truck accidents by adopting safety technology, even if the initial investment comes at a cost.

Those who are harmed by a negligent truck driver have the right to recover for their injuries and losses, and should work with an experienced attorney in pursuing their case.

Source: New York Times, “Looking to Cars, Trucks Step Up Safety,” Tudor Van Hampton, June 27, 2014.