Check out some of the cutting-edge tech that makes trucking safer. Fleet managers all over the country are looking for ways to reduce accidents and costs.
For anyone that hasn’t been paying attention, technology is flooding every aspect of our lives. Good or bad, technology is here and it’s not going anywhere. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the idea that every device can connect to another via the internet and wireless technology. The IoT is in your thermostat, appliances, cars, and television. Now, it’s in tractor trailers too. The trucking industry is looking to improve safety and efficiency within the fleets. A good trucking company, third party logistics, or a freight broker will incorporate technology into their fleet to increase the safety of their drivers and the public. Here is some of the tech that makes trucking safer.
Forward Looking Cameras
In-cab cameras have been around for a while now and have established themselves as a reliable dash cam. The quality of the camera and images they capture have gotten better year after year. The biggest reason for the cameras is to defend the fleet and driver in cases of collisions as well as to prevent phony insurance claims. The public tends to fault the big trucks when there is an accident with a passenger car, when the opposite is usually true. Cameras help in court, so drivers don’t take all the blame.
Driver Scorecards
Driver score carding got started in the early 2000s when fleets were implementing smart technology that would harvest data on how a truck or driver is performing. The information reports back information on where trucks are having problems in operation and where improvements can be made. Bad driving behaviors will lead to increasing maintenance and repairs of the truck and a reduction in fuel economy. A bad driver will have a direct impact on the performance of the truck.
Collision Avoidance Tech
Semis and heavy trucks are overrepresented in collisions. Its partly due to their size and mass which can easily cause serious damage to a smaller vehicle. Who’s at fault doesn’t matter in these cases because the larger truck will always come out on top. Advanced collision mitigation technology is incorporating sensing technology to monitor crashes and taking emergency action to avoid them. An increase in sensors on trucks monitor all around the truck as they utilize satellite and radar even in the blind spots.
Electronic Logging Devices
Electronic logging devices are a great bit of tech that makes trucking safer. In the past, drivers would drive for hours at a time beyond the established limits. They would get around the limits by keeping two logbooks – one official one for the company and police and one of their actual drive time. Now, truck drivers can’t fudge the numbers as they must abide by the laws. All time spent driving is logged automatically, and the truck will shut down automatically after a specified amount of time, forcing the driver to stop and rest.
