The growth of medium to heavy commercial vehicles in North America has increased this year signaling growth in the sector. A booming e-commerce, increased spending, and pent-up demand post-pandemic for products are some of the factors causing the corresponding spike as more trucks are needed to move freight. Innovations in the trucking industry will also become a contributing factor to growth in sales. Autonomous technology, digitalization, and intelligent navigation will help create safe, efficient, and effective vehicles on the road making them attractive to customers and businesses.

Road Safety

Unfortunately, commercial truck accidents account for 10% of all accidents that cause injuries, fatalities, and destruction of property. Distracted driving either on the part of cars or trucks, fatigue, speeding, mechanical failure, and overloaded cargo are some of the reasons of crashes. Innovations in safety technology can help avert or reduce crashes on the road for commercial vehicles. Research indicates that accidents are often caused by human error or misjudgment. Hence, safety systems that are available in the newest models of trucks and commercial vehicles can save lives, reduce damage, and improve safety.

For example, automatic emergency brakes will activate automatically if an object is detected and the driver does not react. Audible and visual alerts in the truck also help warn the driver of an impending accident or if they are too close to another vehicle. In addition, fatigue warning tells the vehicle operator to take a break if they are driving continuously without stopping. Furthermore, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) enhance driver comfort and safety. Some of these innovations include active steering where slight adjustments are made to the steering wheel that improves safety and reduces fatigue. Adaptive cruise control and lane keep assistance are other features of ADAS. With a safe and driver-friendly vehicle, customers looking to buy trucks for their businesses will see an increase in vehicle uptime if driver safety is enhanced while damage and repair issues are reduced.

Smart Navigation and Platooning

Another tech innovation that boosts the performance of medium to large vehicles is an intelligent navigation system. With an advanced global positioning system (GPS) installed in vehicles, it is easy to plan and monitor routes saving time and money. Goods are delivered faster to their destinations improving customer service. It also enforces safe driving that will, in turn, attract better insurance rates. Plus, the GPS also enables owners to locate their vehicles if they are stolen, adding a layer of theft protection.

Innovations in vehicles equate as well to more accurate driving practices allowing trucks to create formations that can be controlled by computers which talk to one another. Through telematics, large vehicles can drive behind each other. Platooning saves time and fuel, and reduces emissions. It also combats wind resistance and prevents traffic congestion.  In the US platooning is authorized in 27 states.  Platooning and intelligent navigation systems are also desirable features for buyers of commercial trucks since they will improve the efficiency of operations through better fuel use, enhanced productivity, and lower environmental impact.

Advances and innovations in the trucking sector continue to evolve. Better driving systems, intelligent navigation system, and platooning are some automotive breakthroughs that can ameliorate safety, save costs, and boost operations.