However, these statistics point to a critical failure in the truck regulation system across North America which focuses on getting bad operators off the road rather than preventing them from getting on the road in the first place. One of these trucks with critical defects could have caused a major crash before it was inspected. According to news reports, Freightliner in the U.S. will make electronic recorders standard equipment on new trucks. The firm anticipates that the U.S. Government will make them mandatory shortly. It is good to see a private firm taking a voluntary initiative such as this to improve safety.
Many trucks already have some form of data collection device to deal with engine warranties.
Safety regulators need to gain access to the appropriate data to investigate crashes and to enforce speed limits and hours of work limits. U.S. Safety Investigators Call for Electronic Recorders Jim Hall, Chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has called for electronic recorders to be used to monitor truck driver compliance with hours of work limits. He said that electronic recorders, collision avoidance systems and electronic braking systems are available today and can be used to prevent crashes and save lives. Six of the 11 jurisdictions contacted have responded. Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and the federal government indicated a refusal to state a position publicly.