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By Greg Bartlett

It seems that a week doesn’t go by, without an accident involving an 18-wheeler making the headlines. These accidents may or may not be the fault of the drivers, but it is important that safety guidelines that have been legislated are followed. There is a reason that driver‘s of large trucks are ordered to pull over for at least 8 hours every day. It ensures that they are not driving while tired, which is a huge safety risk.

In the best of conditions, it is impossible for a fully loaded tractor and trailer to stop on a dime. When you combine the inertia of the machine, with a driver whose reflexes are being adversely affected by fatigue you have a rolling safety hazard. It is essential that these drivers are as alert as possible, because we know that many of the cars they share the road with are driven by reckless and careless individuals. Many highway pile-ups are the result of a truck driver trying to prevent an accident, but if his or her reaction time is down this can lead to a worse mess.

If 18-wheelers were required to install a GPS fleet management system, it would be a simple matter for law enforcement to check on the trucks movements for the past couple of days. This would give a far more accurate account of the driver’s activities than the log books they are currently required to complete. It is fairly common practice for a truck driver to have several logs on the go at once; GPS tracking would eliminate that possibility.

A highway patrol officer who finds that a truck has been moving for too long, could then be given the discretion to order a mandatory rest period or to issue a ticket to the driver. Truckers are just like any other employees; they are just trying to get the job done. If it begins to affect their profit they won’t “chance” it and will follow the highway safety guidelines.

Accidents will happen, but as our roads become ever more clogged with traffic, shouldn’t we encourage any initiative that makes them safer? After all, our kids are on these highways with us. And it’s not like installing GPS trackers would infringe upon anyone’s civil liberties.

From the other perspective there are advantages to installing GPS trackers. Trucks equipped with GPS systems will lower insurance rates for the owners. As well as lowering insurance, GPS can be used to track stolen vehicles in real time. This means that if a truck carrying product is stolen it is possible for law enforcement to be called in, track the vehicle and possibly recover the merchandize as well as the truck. Additionally, installation of GPS trackers can protect the rights of employee drivers. This group of drivers, who do not own their own vehicles, are often pressured into unattractive runs with unrealistic delivery times. With systems monitoring the movements of trucks, the driver would be able to say that they cannot accept the unrealistic demands of their employers.

If you value the safety of our highways and roads, and think that mandatory installation of GPS truck tracking devices could help achieve safer roads contact your local representative. Write letters tell your friends and family, get them involved. With a little perseverance and time we can affect real change.