In response to deadly crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, the Korean government is moving to mandate the installation of Forward Collision Warning Systems in buses and large trucks.
To tackle the issue of accidents cause by commercial vehicles, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has pitched mandating large trucks and buses have the Autonomous Emergency Braking System and Lane Departure Warning System by August last year.
“Accidents involving large size buses and trucks are more deadly than passenger cars. Safety systems must be installed commercial vehicles even though it comes with a high price tag,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University. Korea pushes for safety features in commerical vehicles
We could take a cue from this attitude and action here in the U.S. After all, we have our fair share of deadly crashes involving trucks — particularly in construction zones and in conditions where traffic slows and large vehicles, which take longer to come to a stop, all too easily and too often, become unintended weapons causing mass destruction and unexpected Death By Motor Vehicle.
Just look at some of the recent deadly crashes:
- Trucker Charged Following Triple Fatality Pileup In Macon
- Kansas City two days ago: A re-creation of the I-70 crash according to reports by the Kansas Turnpike Authority
- Three dead after six vehicle accident shuts down I-35 in Waco
If we can do something to reduce these crashes, should we? And, while we’re at it, how about adding comprehensive underride protection, to reduce the deaths and catastrophic injuries which occur with preventable underride?
And on another note: I still think that a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman could be instrumental in addressing these and other traffic safety issues more effectively.
