Technology aims to combat truck driver fatigue

Trucking accidents can be particularly devastating to other drivers and passengers on the road in South Carolina. Due to the size and weight of semi trucks, people in other vehicles may be more likely to suffer serious injuries or even lose their lives in a crash. Because truck driver fatigue can be deadly, various companies are working to develop technologies to detect fatigued drivers and prevent them from getting behind the wheel. Two developers with different kinds of technological experience have come together to develop a warning system that could help to stop crashes before they occur.

Pulsar Informatics, one of the companies involved in the project, worked in the past to study fatigue and sleep for pilots, astronauts and others working in mission-critical industries where fatigue could be deadly. The same is true in trucking, where fatigued drivers can cause serious truck crashes. The company developed an algorithm to measure the risk of fatigue that takes multiple factors into account, including the hours of service data for that particular driver.

The system produces a red, yellow or green signal to indicate the comparative risk of a particular driver’s fatigue. However, a pure algorithm may not sufficiently reflect a driver’s readiness for the road, especially taking into account personal factors. Therefore, Trimble Technologies contributed a system that measures and sends alerts based on particular driving behaviors, such as sudden braking or sharp starts. The system evaluates a driver’s performance against comparative data from other drivers, highlighting particularly troubling behavior.

Truck driver fatigue can be one of the most serious and common causes of severe trucking accidents. When people are injured by a drowsy, distracted or otherwise negligent driver, they can work with a personal injury lawyer. An attorney can help an accident victim pursue compensation for damages such as lost wages and medical bills.