Can Technology Keep Large Truck Crashes Under Control in Louisiana?

Tractor-trailers and other heavy vehicles like dump trucks are involved in devastating truck accidents in Louisiana, resulting in thousands of people seriously injured and hundreds of fatalities every year.

In view of these worrying statistics, federal authorities have imposed stringent safety regulations on truck drivers and motor carriers, with limited success.

Louisiana motorists are not so much concerned about the safety regulations as they are about the way these are enforced. It is well known in the trucking industry that logbooks are often tampered with, allowing truck drivers to clock far more hours than rules dictate, and that many trucks are not nearly as well inspected and maintained as they should be.

There is one promising area, however, that offers hope that in the future, 18-wheelers or big rigs will become safer whatever the shortcomings of truck drivers or motor carriers.

Large truck technology has recently been the focus of a report to the Senate by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) to convince lawmakers that new, high-tech systems can make trucks a lot safer, and make the enforcement of existing regulations more effective.

The four technologies CVSA recommends are:
Brake Stroke Monitoring: This on-board device monitors the critical components of the truck's brake system, indicating issues of adjustment and operation. The truck driver will receive real-time warning that the brake system is deficient.

Vehicle Stability Systems: Stability control systems either warn the driver of slide, yaw or rollover risks, or intervene on the brakes and throttle to prevent the instability to develop. This device should sharply reduce risks of jackknife and rollover crashes.

Lane Departure Warning Systems: When a distracted or drowsy truck driver inadvertently steers away from the lane, a sound system immediately warns the driver when the edge of the calculated path is approached. The latest systems perform in a wide range of light and visibility conditions.

Collision Warning Systems: This technology warns the driver of stopped or slow-moving traffic ahead, indicates a shorter than safe distance with the preceding vehicle and acts as a "see-through" system in fog, snow, dust or rain.

Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR): EOBRs integrate GPS-technology with odometer speed and distance information to provide all the required information about the truck's operation, mileage, time, location and the driver's hours of work and driving. Replacing the paper logbook, EOBRs are tamper-proof.

The New Orleans truck accident attorneys of the Young Firm take your safety seriously. If you have been hurt in an accident caused by someone else, contact us for a FREE discussion of your case.