> It's not like arbitrary jackasses can get behind the wheel of these vehicles anyways... there is a reason a commercial licensing program exists.
The problem isn't "arbitrary jackasses", the problem is the relentless pace modern truckers are put through. Utterly insane demands for just-in-time delivery that have absolutely no margin left for inevitable delays or completely unrealistic schedules that many drivers compensate for by driving longer than allowed. Add on that drivers who self-medicate the loneliness on the road with alcohol, dope or other stuff and that explains a majority of the accidents that could be (or are) prevented with collision avoidance systems.
The remainder are irresponsible other motorists who think it's a great idea to merge 2m in front of a truck after overtaking it - yeah of course, the truck driver will be widely awake now, thank you very much...
> delivery that have absolutely no margin left for inevitable delays or completely unrealistic schedules that many drivers compensate for by driving longer than allowed. Add on that drivers who self-medicate the loneliness on the road with alcohol, dope or other stuff and that explains a majority of the accidents that could be (or are) prevented with collision avoidance systems.
Back in the 70s it was like that…
I first started driving in ‘98 and if you weren’t at one of the larger companies you could get away with a lot due to paper logbooks. Now it’s all electronic logs and GPS tracking so you can get away with basically nothing, gone are the days where you delivered the load and then made your logs look pretty — up until the DOT would start targeting specific companies so they would crack down on the drivers turning in falsified logs.
And drug/alcohol testing has been mandatory since the Reagan administration. People still do it but they don’t last very long.
One in a while they give me a load or two where I have to push it harder than I like but that just burns all my hours so they can’t do it very often if they want the truck to keep moving. In the before times you’d just rewrite your logbook and magically have enough hours to keep moving but that doesn’t work anymore.
Remind me again, what's your point of exposure to the American trucking industry?
It's kind of ironic that someone on a different continent feels as though they can speak authoritatively on the subject. This kind of hubris, albeit in the Diamler-Benz office rather than wherever you're sitting, is exactly how the half-baked tech features the person you are replying to is complaining about make it into the truck. Of course there's multiple parties at fault. The American bean counters have no incentive to not buy those features even if they make the job worse for the employees.
The problem isn't "arbitrary jackasses", the problem is the relentless pace modern truckers are put through. Utterly insane demands for just-in-time delivery that have absolutely no margin left for inevitable delays or completely unrealistic schedules that many drivers compensate for by driving longer than allowed. Add on that drivers who self-medicate the loneliness on the road with alcohol, dope or other stuff and that explains a majority of the accidents that could be (or are) prevented with collision avoidance systems.
The remainder are irresponsible other motorists who think it's a great idea to merge 2m in front of a truck after overtaking it - yeah of course, the truck driver will be widely awake now, thank you very much...