Helping truckers focus on the road

Technology is today’s double-edged sword. Technology makes it easier to drive around Portland with dashboard GPS maps; more environment-friendly with steadily increasing fuel efficiency; and safer with the addition of airbags, collision avoidance systems and other protective features. At the same time, technology gives drivers ever-more intriguing reasons to pay attention to things other than traffic and weather conditions; electronics such as cellphones, tablets, GPS systems, satellite radio, internet-connected dashboards and more.

When the distracted driver is behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, the result can be truck accidents, serious injuries and even fatalities.

A recent issue of a trucking industry magazine stepped gingerly around the dangers of distracted truckers with a carefully worded concession that “a large percentage of safety-related events (are) attributed to some degree of driver distraction.” Fleet Equipment magazine also noted that trucking firms “continue to adopt collision mitigation systems that help focus driver attention on the road” in an effort to reduce truck accidents.

It stated that the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute studied a forward-radar system for large trucks. The research shows that if that existing technology was applied to all large commercial trucks today, injuries would drop 23 percent and fatalities would go down by 24 percent.

The radar system monitors the distance between the tractor-trailer and vehicles ahead of it. When a potential collision is detected, audible and visual warnings are issued by the system so that the trucker can apply the brakes or take other preventive actions.

For those injured by a distracted trucker, life can be turned upside down by severe injuries, expensive medical care, loss of income and other damages. You can discuss your situation with a Portland, Oregon, attorney experienced in pursuing justice and full compensation for truck accident injury victims.