More than half (56%) of passenger car drivers have felt unsafe driving next to a commercial truck in the past year, and 64% have witnessed unsafe driving behaviors among commercial truck drivers.
That’s according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Dynata in August on behalf of vehicle lifecycle management company Solera that aims to uncover insights on the perceptions around safety in the fleet industry.
Those passenger car drivers’ perceptions revealed that they think technology can play a major role in making commercial drivers safer, among other things.
“I think there needs to be understanding going both directions. I think it's important for the trucking industry to understand the perceptions of passenger vehicles on the road. At the same time, I think it's important for regular passenger vehicle drivers to understand what is happening in the trucking industry in making the roads safer,” said Michal Yariv, vice president and general manager of strategic initiatives at Solera. “Talking about video-based safety and techniques that we have using things like artificial intelligence to identify distracted driving is a big part of our message right now around how we can help all the distractions in the cab and make the roads safer.”
Only 12% of respondents said they haven’t driven next to or near a commercial truck in the past year. Of the 88% remaining, more than two-thirds (69%) think truck drivers should be under more video surveillance while on the road, mainly due to aggressive driving.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they have witnessed aggressive driving behavior among commercial drivers. Other unsafe driving behaviors they have reportedly witnessed include using a cellphone/tablet while driving (30%); eating while driving (24%) and driving while drowsy (22%). The good news is 36% – the second-highest response – said they have not witnessed unsafe driving behaviors.
Yariv said video technology that can detect these types of behaviors and offer built-in driver coaching is the key to achieving optimum safety and overcoming these negative perceptions.
