Vulnerable road users represent anyone who would not be adequately protected if there is a road incident involving a heavy-duty commercial motor vehicle. This could be anyone from a bicyclist, pedestrian, or motorcyclist. While it may seem like the simplest way to prevent catastrophic accidents involving vulnerable road users is to keep them off the roads, this is both impractical and counterproductive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Instead, municipalities and interested parties should be\nfocusing on the next-best solution, which is to simply make roadways safer for\neveryone. Yet, the problem is that many vulnerable road users are not trained\nor do not understand how to properly share the road with heavy-duty commercial\nmotor vehicles; and this is a problem unique to the United States. In the\nNetherlands, children must pass a traffic test every year to prove they understand\nroad safety<\/a>. Perhaps this should not be limited to Europe and instead\nshould be exported across the pond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is good reason why Europe puts the focus on training\nvulnerable road users how to be more aware of heavy-duty commercial motor\nvehicles. Across the European Union, over half of all vehicle-related injuries\nor fatalities stem from an incident involving VRUs. And even though OEMs and\nregulators have worked hard o reduce that number it remains stubbornly high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the main reasons the numbers remain high is because\nimprovements in truck safety are being counteracted by environmental efforts to\nreduce vehicular traffic. As more people take to walking or bicycling, the\nspace in which they can share the road becomes far more limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In situations where the infrastructure might not be in place\nto train kids from a young age, most countries instead focus on ensuring that\nthose operating big rigs are aware of vulnerable road users. And while these\nefforts are gaining steam, there is still more work to be done on education\nroad users of all types how to safely navigate roadways. Even more, there is\none type of accident that stands out the most when accidents involve commercial\nmotor vehicles and VRUs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moving Beyond Passive\nSystems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Data gathered from accidents involving VRUs overwhelmingly\npoints to the passenger side of large trucks being the most dangerous. Not only\ndoes that side have the biggest blind spot, but it is also the most common\nimpact point when a VRU-involved accident occurs. Although side turn assist\ntechnologies are going a long way to preventing these problems, issues remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider\nthis<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, truck manufacturers are beginning to take note. Some truck OEMs have lowered the truck operator\u2019s position in the cab in the hopes that it will give them a better view of their surroundings. Others have decreased the width of the B and C pillars while increasing the amount of windshield glass. Motor carriers have also attached larger and more varied mirrors and cameras, yet these systems have one limitation \u2013 they are all passive. Passive systems require the operator to continuously shift their gaze away from what is in front of them to the mirror or camera monitor. This constant shifting not only creates greater levels of stress on the truck driver, but it also reduces the chances that the driver will be looking at the right system at the right time. Mirrors are also susceptible to distortion, prevents the truck driver from properly gauging the distance between the road user and the vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Truck drivers must also contend with simple geometry as a\ntruck turns. While on a straight line, the mirrors provide a linear view along\nthe side of the truck, but when the truck turns, that all changes. During a\nturn, the mirror only shows the area directly behind the cab. The operators\nview becomes increasingly restricted as the vehicle turns. In a crowded urban\narea, this prevents the truck driver from seeing what is happening along the\nlength of the trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, fleets are moving away from passive mirrors and\ninstalling radar-based collision avoidance systems. Why? Because unlike mirrors\nand cameras, radar does not rely on line-of-sight alone. Adopting these\ntechnologies could mean the difference between life and death in an incident\ninvolving a vulnerable road user. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How Radar-Based\nSystems Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective radar-based systems emit radar waves at a\n150-degree semi-rectangular pattern along the side of the vehicle. As the radar\nwaves contact objects and bounce back to the emitter, the computer filters out\nstationary objects while providing specific alerts when it discovers objects in\nmotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What makes these systems different are their active nature;\na truck driver does not need to constantly be looking from the road ahead to a\nmirror or a viewing screen to try to isolate where a VRU may or may not be. The\nradar-based system notifies the operator when there is a potential danger from\na VRU. Rather than taking attention away, these systems guide a truck driver\u2019s\nattention to where it needs to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comprehensive radar-based systems provide intuitive audible\nand visual alerts. They can even be outfitted with GPS-based vehicle speed\nmessages and can be connected directly to a trucks CAN-bus so that vehicle\nspeed information can be adequately monitored. Radar-based solutions also\nprovide multiple environment monitoring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As one example, when a vehicle is traveling faster than 20\nmph, the system creates a specific active radar zone focusing on looking for\nVRUs and monitoring if one is in a blind spot when a truck driver initiates a\nlane change. The system is synced up with the turn indicator. In the event a\ntruck driver turns on the turn indicator and there is a VRU in their blind\nspot, the system will activate an alert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Radar-based systems should also provide a comprehensive\nsolution when the vehicle is operating in a congested urban area. The system\nshould be able to filter out street signs, lights, benches, trees and other\nobjects that represent no danger. In the event a bicycle rider enters the\nvehicle\u2019s blind spot, however, the system will provide an alert. The system\nshould provide this alert whether the vehicle is turning or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an ideal world, responsibility for preventing accidents involving\nVRUs would not rest solely on the fleet but would rather be everyone\u2019s\nresponsibility. But until comprehensive training systems are introduced,\ncompanies cannot afford to be passive. Proactive installation of radar-based\nsolutions is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond Side Impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While much of the focus is on impacts that occur on the\npassenger side of the vehicle, radar-based safety systems can also provide\ncomprehensive protection and reduction from collisions involving other\nvehicles. Active braking and collision mitigation systems go a long way to\nreducing a fleet\u2019s overall number of rear-end collision incidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These systems react to moving or stationary vehicles and\ndeliver high performance in all seasons and driving situations. With rear-end\ncollisions representing 30 percent of all fatal accidents, there is room to\nhave a big impact on lives and safety by using a radar-based system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n