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Like with Passenger Vehicles, a New Study Shows that 'Autobrake' Prevents Crashes for Tractor-Trailers
Statements from Eric Teoh ("tee-oh")--the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's
director of statistical services--in:
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Audio 9.2 format
(118 seconds total)
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
(TEOH--BITE #1):
"WE FOUND THAT OVER 40-PERCENT OF CRASHES IN WHICH A LARGE TRUCK REAR-ENDS ANOTHER VEHICLE COULD BE
ELIMINATED--IF THOSE TRUCKS WERE EQUIPPED WITH 'FORWARD-COLLISION WARNING'- AND
'AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY-BRAKING'-SYSTEMS. EVEN THOUGH MORE AND MORE TRUCKS ARE NOW BEING EQUIPPED WITH SUCH TECHNOLOGIES, NOT MUCH WAS KNOWN OF THEIR EFFECTS ON CRASH-RATES; HOWEVER, OUR PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS ALREADY SHOWN SIMILAR, SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR PASSENGER-VEHICLES.
WITH THIS NEW STUDY, WE BELIEVE THAT THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS ARE INDEED GREAT ENOUGH THAT THESE CRASH-AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS SHOULD BE STANDARD
EQUIPMENT--ON ALL NEW LARGE-TRUCKS."
(TEOH--BITE #2):
"MANY OF THOSE TRAVELING THIS HOLIDAY-WEEKEND WILL DRIVE TO THEIR DESTINATIONS.
AND, WE'VE ALL, AT SOME POINT, FELT THE UNEASE OF DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE, CLOSE TO TRUCKS THAT ARE VERY LARGE.
A BIG-RIG CRASHING INTO A PASSENGER-VEHICLE'S REAR-END IS AN ONGOING
SAFETY-HAZARD--BECAUSE OF THE SIZE- AND WEIGHT-DISPARITY. BUT, OUR LATEST RESEARCH SHOWS THAT
'AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY-BRAKING'- AND 'FORWARD-COLLISION WARNING'-SYSTEMS--ON
TRUCKS--CAN INDEED MAKE EVERYONE'S TRAVEL SAFER."
(TEOH--BITE #3):
"ALTHOUGH THEIR DRIVERS CRASH LESS FREQUENTLY, PER MILE TRAVELED, TRACTOR-TRAILERS AND OTHER LARGE TRUCKS CAN BE ESPECIALLY
DEADLY--BECAUSE THEY OFTEN WEIGH UP TO 30-TIMES AS MUCH AS PASSENGER-VEHICLES.
WHAT'S MORE, CRASHES IN THE U-S THAT INVOLVE LARGE TRUCKS HAVE RISEN BY NEARLY A
THIRD--AFTER DROPPING TO AN ALL-TIME LOW, BACK IN 2009. OUR LATEST STUDY, HOWEVER, SHOWS THAT
'FORWARD-COLLISION WARNING' AND 'AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY-BRAKING' DO INDEED REDUCE THEIR CRASH-RISK."
(TEOH--BITE #4):
"NEITHER TRUCK- NOR PASSENGER-VEHICLE-MANUFACTURERS, IN THE U-S, ARE REQUIRED TO EQUIP VEHICLES WITH ANY KIND OF FRONT-CRASH-PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY.
HOWEVER, 20 AUTOMAKERS--WHO ACCOUNT FOR 99-PERCENT OF THE AMERICAN
MARKET--ARE MOVING TOWARD MAKING 'AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY-BRAKING' STANDARD, ON VIRTUALLY ALL NEW PASSENGER-VEHICLES, BY THE FALL OF 2022."
