Some of the most common types of accidents can be avoided with today’s technology. Here’s a look at some high-tech systems that can save money, equipment … and lives.
Truck rollovers, jackknives and lanemigration, rear-end and blind-spot accidents occur all too frequently, as anyone who watches the morning news knows. But such incidents needn’t be a matter of chance. There are ways of putting the potential for avoiding them within your control.
Be aware of surroundings
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reportedly estimates that 93 ercent of all accidents involve driver error, with the majority of those accidents related to driver inattention. NHTSA research also shows that one extra second of warning could prevent up to 90 percent of rear-end collisions.
Forward- and side-looking collision warning systems by Eaton, Delphi and other suppliers let drivers know when they’re following another vehicle too closely, or if there’s a vehicle in a blind spot before they change lanes. Eaton’s Vorad system uses radar to anticipate rear-end collisions, and can be used with optional adaptive cruise control to reduce vehicle speed if following distance is inadequate.
The system can see vehicles in drivers’ blind spots and warn visually, then audibly with the activation of a turn signal, when another vehicle is occupying the intended lane of
travel. But is it effective?
The only way to tell is by comparing our vehicles that have the system with those that don’t,” says Shawn Ply, director of maintenance for Sunset Logistics, based in Fort Worth. “We’ve had no at-fault accidents on Voradequipped vehicles since we installed
the first systems two years ago.” And while it’s hard to attribute that success only to Vorad, the results are more convincing given that Sunset is a slipseat operation, and the results hardly can be linked to the quality of one group of drivers over another.
Operating mainly in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Sunset’s drivers spend 80 percent of their time in high-traffic, high-stress environments. “As soon as the Vorad unit goes off, a driver’s foot goes to the brake pedal in a split-second, much the way it would when a radar detector goes off,” Ply says. “The foot goes to the brake first, then the eyes help the driver determine how hard an application to make.”
