According to a recent report from the American Automobile Association (AAA), 63,000 big rig accidents could have been avoided last year with appropriate truck safety technology.
Additionally, 61 percent of motorists report feeling less safe passing a big rig than other automobiles, says AAA. Better truck safety technology would help some of them feel more safe, they say, including:
- Lane departure warning systems
- Automatic emergency braking
- Air disk brakes
- Video-based onboard safety monitoring systems
AAA reports that automatic emergency breaking could prevent more than 5,000 accidents each year. This would result in almost 3,000 fewer injuries and more than 50 fewer deaths caused by big rig accidents. Adding air disk brakes to the current fleet of commercial trucks could reportedly prevent 37 deaths, 1,447 injuries, and 2,411 accidents.
“Advances in vehicle safety technology provide the opportunity to prevent substantial numbers of these crashes, injuries, and deaths. Examples of such technologies include braking systems designed to shorten a truck’s stopping distance, systems that warn the driver if the truck begins to drift out of its lane, and systems that can detect when a crash is imminent and automatically apply the brakes if the driver fails to do so,” notes the AAA report.
The AAA report also considered the costs of implementing better truck safety technology in current and future commercial trucks.
“Research results show that the benefits of equipping all new and existing large trucks with lane departure warning systems and video-based onboard safety monitoring systems would far outweigh the cost of doing so. The benefits of equipping all new large trucks with automatic emergency braking systems and air disc brakes would likely outweigh the costs as well,” states the AAA report.
Commercial Truck Accidents
A majority of AAA survey respondents reported feeling less safe while passing commercial trucks. Motorists report that trucks sometimes drift out of their lanes or swerve unexpectedly. Motorists also noted commercial trucks have large blind spots that can lead to devastating collisions with smaller passenger vehicles.
According to the AAA report, in 2015 there were more than 400,000 accidents involving commercial trucks resulting in 116,000 injuries and, sadly, 4,000 fatalities. The report notes that this is an increase of four percent from 2014.
Better truck safety technology would help motorists feel safer on the road and, according to the AAA report, would take a bite out of accidents caused by commercial trucks.
Truck Accident Lawsuits
Unfortunately, for those who have experienced a big rig crash or have lost loved ones to accidents, additional truck safety technology as recommended by the AAA is too late.. Additionally, truck companies and their insurance carriers are notorious for cheating victims out of compensation they are due.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a big rig accident, contact an experienced lawyer to help protect your legal rights.
The laws regulating the trucking industry are quite complex and the attorneys at McDonald Worley can help you obtain compensation for your medical bills, lost wages as well as pain and suffering. Call today for a FREE consultation!