The Georgia State Patrol confirms there are no charges filed yet against the truck driver believed to be responsible for last week's fatal crash near Savannah.
The truck involved did not have the latest in anti-crash technology, according to investigators.
Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland got an inside look at some of the new safety systems being installed in tractor-trailers.
Since 2010, Conway Freight in Gwinnett County has wired each new truck with cameras that watch the driver and the road, and a second camera to watch the lane markings. The system sounds an alarm if the big rig drifts over the line.
Nearly its entire fleet of 9,500 trucks has a radar system to help alert a driver to impending risk ahead.
"You're out on the road sharing the road and the risks are there," said driver Tim Vogt.
Vogt will soon pass one million career miles with Conway.
He says his radar's alarm will sound if he gets too close to another car and the system will automatically kick in during a worst-case scenario.
"Then it starts using passive deceleration, like cutting the fuel to the engine, using the engine brakes to slow the vehicle down," he said.
Vogt won't speculate about the trucker thought responsible for last week's deadly crash in Bryan County, but did say it is “quite a bit safer” to be in a truck with crash avoidance versus one without.
Atlanta safety advocate Steve Owings, who founded Road Safe America after the death of his son Cullum in a truck crash in 2002, petitioned the government in February to require the type of radar system Conway has installed.
"It would have made that crash much less violent, and probably would have avoided it all together," Owings said.
Over four years of use, Conway says its rate of front-end collision dropped 67 percent.
"The basic safety comes from the driver paying attention, but this is a very good insurance policy," said Vogt.
About the Author
