Vehicle technology, including that on heavy-duty trucks, has saved lives over the decades. However, jumping the gun on new tech can have adverse effects, something the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to keep in mind in future regulations.
There is no doubt that Class 8 trucks today are significantly safer than they were 10, 15 or 20-plus years ago. Features like electronic and roll stability control, traction control with differential locks and tire pressure monitoring systems have made it easier for drivers, especially new ones, to operate safely.
Obviously, the most efficient and effective path to safer roadways is proper driver training. But experienced drivers are still human. Some advances in vehicle technology and design have mitigated some of our human flaws.
Other vehicle safety technologies have not, despite the best intentions.
Take electronic logging devices, for example. The ELD mandate was in the name of safety. It went into effect in December 2017. Since then, crash data has shown no correlation between ELDs and safer highways. In fact, fatalities in large truck crashes increased every year after 2017, except for 2020, when the pandemic caused a drop in passenger vehicles on the road.
FMCSA could make the same mistake with automatic emergency braking systems. The technology is almost there, but “almost” is not good enough when it comes to vehicle safety technology.
Safety advocates supporting an automatic emergency braking mandate for heavy-duty trucks will point to a wealth of data showing the technology’s benefits. That data is largely based on studies that look at several variables without controlling for automatic emergency braking. They also do not account for real-world experiences.
In October 2023, Land Line reported Carrie Moore found herself in a life-threatening situation with her truck’s automatic emergency braking system.
In snowy conditions, the system was tricked into thinking a guardrail was a crash threat. The brakes automatically kicked in, causing the truck to jackknife on an icy road.
“It was a full application,” Moore said. “That sent the truck sideways. I barely kept it out of the median. The only thing that saved me was hearing the voices of my parents, who were both truck drivers. They taught me that the last thing you want to do in that situation is to hit the brakes. Instead, you tap the gas to get out of it.”
Other truck drivers have reported their automatic emergency braking-equipped trucks suddenly stopping for no reason in the middle of the highway.
In July 2023, FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to require automatic emergency braking on heavy-duty trucks. That was despite NHTSA having just launched an investigation into the technology on Daimler trucks.
The investigation initially found that Daimler Trucks North America had received more than 300 reports possibly related to an automatic emergency braking defect. That includes 13 injury incidents and one fatal incident.
Some trucks were getting false positives, causing them to brake for no reason. At highway speeds, this could be a fatal problem.
Whatever happened with that investigation?
On Oct. 23, NHTSA closed the preliminary evaluation and escalated it to an engineering analysis. In other words, the agency found that a real safety issue may exist, so it is digging deeper to get to the bottom of it.
Nearly two-and-a-half years later, and NHTSA still has not definitively found out whether automatic emergency braking is safe on certain trucks.
That alone should give FMCSA reason to put any proposed mandate on hold.
All of the studies presented by safety groups are convincing and not entirely without merit. No doubt, automatic emergency braking is beneficial in low-speed, urban situations. Eventually, the technology will have the same efficacy on the highways.
Unfortunately, we are not there yet. Until we are, any mandate would be premature and potentially fatal. Requiring automatic emergency braking on trucks while an investigation into the issue is still active would be irresponsible.
Some lawmakers have sounded the alarm. Among them is Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who owns a trucking company.
“From someone who runs a little over 100 trucks, I’ve tried those automatic braking systems, and we pulled them,” Collins said during a House subcommittee hearing. “They’re not fail-proof. If you’re ever in a truck going 65 mph down the interstate loaded with 80,000 gross and your truck just all of a sudden slams on the brakes and there’s no reason other than the bridge ahead or the construction flashing sign, then you’ll understand that these things aren’t fail-proof and we don’t need them mandated until they are. Because the car behind you, they don’t know why you slammed on the brakes either … People don’t understand that these things are actually hurting more than they’re helping right now.”
Fortunately, FMCSA is rethinking the 2023 proposal.
In the latest regulatory agenda, the agency indicated it will issue a second notice of proposed rulemaking in December.
On one hand, the perfect is the enemy of good. On the other hand, “good enough” is not acceptable for vehicle safety technology. Truck drivers understand this.
“Truckers are not opposed to a technology that will help improve their safety and the safety of other motorists,” the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote in submitted comments. “But until the agencies can offer assurances this rulemaking can meet its desired safety objectives, they should not set forth any mandate.” LL
Land Line Senior Editor Mark Schremmer contributed to this story.
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