Drivers in Monmouth County are forced to share the road with trucks on New Jersey’s many highways. Accidents involving trucks are often serious, especially when there is a smaller passenger vehicle involved. That is the why the government and the trucking industry are working to incorporate technology that will keep everyone on the road safer.
One such technology that is becoming increasingly prevalent is collision avoidance systems. According to Commercial Carrier Journal, from the period of 2011 to 2012, collision avoidance systems could have prevented crashes or made them less serious by a rate of 80 percent. Considering the fact that 3,744 fatal accidents involved large trucks in 2014, this technology has the potential to make a real difference.
It works by automatically applying the brakes when it senses that a collision is imminent. If an impact occurs, it will likely be much less severe than if it occurred at full speed and in some cases, it may prevent a collision from happening altogether. Collision avoidance systems are especially beneficial when used in conjunction with other technologies such as electronic stability control. If a truck driver sees that a collision is about to occur in his or lane and an adjacent lane is clear of traffic, ESC helps prevent the truck from tipping over. ESC will be required on all new trucks beginning in 2017.
There appears to be proof that collision avoidance systems are effective. Fleet Equipment Magazine reports that a study conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration found that over a 12-month period, trucks that had collision avoidance systems installed were involved in zero rear-end crashes.
