The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) released a video regarding the future of commercial vehicle safety and the role technology will play. The video details the safety challenges the trucking industry is grappling with as well as solutions to those difficulties—namely in the form of technological advancements. The following are some of the most significant ways technology will transform trucking safety, enforcement, and inspections:
- Vehicle-to-Everything Communication. Modern trucks already come equipped with sensors that monitor several aspects of trucks such as tire pressure, light systems, and more. To take this existing technology to the next level, CVSA intends to focus on connecting the vehicle’s sensors to other vehicles, infrastructure, enforcement officials, and more.
- Warnings to drivers. Commercial vehicles take much longer to brake than a passenger vehicle, but it’s not always possible to know a hazard is looming up ahead until it’s too late. With vehicle-to-vehicle communication, other vehicles can send out alerts to approaching commercial vehicles about slick roads, accidents, and more. This technology can also help prevent time-consuming delays by alerting drivers to take alternate routes to avoid heavy traffic congestion, accidents, or road construction.
- Advanced driver assistance capabilities. Many trucks come equipped with lane departure warning systems, but vehicle autonomy technology can do much more. The vehicle can monitor its surroundings, blind spots, and the drivers themselves to make corrections the drivers can’t see or may have overlooked. Some examples include lane centering, automated emergency braking, and alerting a drowsy driver to pull over to prevent a collision.
- Electronic inspections. Relying on trucks’ universal electronic identifications, inspectors will be able to perform electronic inspections to identify high-risk vehicles and drivers. This will reduce the number of unsafe vehicles and drivers on the road while allowing safe drivers to stay on their delivery schedule. This allows enforcement officials to use a highly selective approach to stopping vehicles for inspections rather than a randomized or blanket method.
Many of these advancements are attainable in the not-so-distant future. While other safety technology like fully autonomous vehicles will take more time, fleets and motor carriers can expect significant technological changes in the coming years. To learn more about improving your fleet’s safety, contact the experts at Interstate motor carriers.
You can check out the new CVSA video here: https://www.cvsa.org/news-entry/future-video/