New safety features on vehicles have been making roadways in Georgia safer. Nationwide, the number of motor vehicle accidents per mile driven has been decreasing since 1980. The number of fatal crashes reached an all-time low in 2009.
There has been a divergence between cars and trucks when it comes to accident fatalities. The number of fatalities for cars has remained the same or has decreased over the years, but for trucks, the number of fatalities has steadily increased.
There has been some speculation about why the safety record for trucks is not improving. A shortage of truck drivers may mean that less experienced drivers are taking jobs in transportation and often carry loads at maximum capacity.
Safety systems called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, use motion detection features combined with artificial intelligence to make vehicles safer. Implementation of ADAS in large trucks may be key to reducing the number of truck accident fatalities.
Approximately 40 percent of large trucking fleets have adopted ADAS features for their vehicles such as blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and smart cruise control. The percentage is much higher for large fleets with 50 or more units–around 74 percent. Of the companies that have not implemented ADAS, many say that they have no plans to do so.
A person who has been in a commercial vehicle accident may be able to file a claim for compensation against the at-fault driver for damages related to the incident. Truck accidents are a common cause of very serious injuries. A personal injury lawyer may be able to help injured plaintiffs sue trucking companies and negligent drivers.
There is currently no requirement for commercial vehicles to be equipped with ADAS. Regardless of whether they implement technology in their fleets to help reduce accidents, trucking companies may be responsible for property damages and injuries when their drivers are involved in trucking accidents while working.