OTA Dispatch Issue 2, 2021

Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch I REMEMBER WHEN my dad bought our first truck back in 1972. Besides brakes, the only safety feature it had was a seat belt. Since then, safety has become the number one priority for most trucking companies, and, for most, it sits at the top of the triangle of sustainability (safety, compliance, profitability). These days, OEM’s have many safety options to offer for those spec’ing out new equipment. The decision of what to include always borders around the questions of “How much is enough?” and “Is there a true return on investment to justify the added expense?” Unlike my dad, I now have a variety of options when it comes to what safety technology that we spec on our trucks, including: ¼ Detroit Assurance 5.0 collision mitigation ¼ Adaptive cruise ¼ Lane/highway departure warning ¼ Side guard assist (blind spot detection) ¼ Active lane guidance (keeps truck in lane) ¼ Video Intelligence ¼ Cab engineering to protect driver and occupants in a crash (3-point safety belt; driver-side air bag; energy-absorbing steering column/wheel; engine/transmission drop; roped-in windshield) …and so many others. Some of this technology we haven’t added—yet. In some cases, what we do have has already paid off. A recent incident in Eugene solidified the value of dash cams and video intelligence. The video in one of our trucks provided proof that an officer needed to charge a motorist with reckless driving rather than my driver with a rear end violation. We’re not alone in seeing the benefits of video intelligence. It captured a fellow OTA member’s tanker truck being rear-ended in an accident in the Portland 2 Andy Owens OTA Chair As they say, you can’t stop progress, but you can help decide what progress is and what isn’t. area. I’m sure you have examples of your own incidents. Technology can certainly be a valuable tool, but can there be too much of a good thing when safety is on the line? While we (mostly) can pick and choose which advanced safety technology goes on our trucks, many new cars come standard with what some call “nanny” features. Your car tells you when you’re speeding. It notifies you when another vehicle is approaching on either side. Overly- sensitive back-up cameras essentially yell at you if it thinks you’re getting too close. Collision prevention can stop you from hitting another car, person, or object. All of these bells-and-whistles are great in theory, but technology that starts out as a preventative measure could become more of a distraction or aggravation. Of course, this all leads up to autonomous vehicles, which are already on trucking’s horizon. Like many others, I’m still waiting to see if all of these new safety features actually translate into safer trips and fewer accidents. Oddly enough, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which is how much of this new safety technology is packaged, got their start in 1972. When brakes and a seat belt were the height of safety for our trucks, Eaton released the first collision warning system. Similar to today, many drivers were not enthusiastic about the new technology. Engineers kept at it and now, almost 50 years later, systems are capable of bringing at- risk vehicles to a complete stop—not just sounding a warning. The technology may have improved, but user acceptance is still lagging according to a recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). It shows that drivers and fleets are hesitant when it comes to adopting ADAS; however, it’s clear that technology and safety will be intertwined in trucking’s future, whether we’re ready or not. As they say, you can’t stop progress, but you can help decide what progress is and what isn’t. The Evolution of Safety