I read about this topic a few weeks ago and wanted to do a little bit of research before posting, however the concept is very simple!
Two non-automotive brands have jointly developed a very clever solution to help reduce the road toll – specifically in Argentina, however this idea should be adopted world-wide.
Samsung, the Korean electronics giant partnered with Leo Burnett, a major advertising and marketing company to develop the “see-through” truck. In simplistic form, a semi-trailer (or any large vehicle) with a flat screen embedded into the back panel/door. At the front of the vehicle is a camera that displays what is happening on the screen. A very simple way for drivers behind the truck to see what is coming in the opposite direction – or any possible obstacle that could cause the truck to brake suddenly.
Leo Burnett Argentina fitted a wireless camera to a Samsung delivery truck and then had Samsung’s outdoor screens fitted to the rear making a huge billboard for the idea! The great thing about the concept is that all of the components were freely available, however no one had combined them to fix a problem – apparently in Argentina, 1 person dies every hour on the road thanks to many trucks and poor two lane highways where people risk their lives to overtake the bigger road users.
This award winning concept has attracted several truck and trailer manufacturers who are keen to take it to market which would then see it spread across the globe. It is not just Argentina that would benefit – I would suggest that nearly every country in the world would benefit due to road conditions being suitable for this technology.
Look out for these “Safety Trucks”, Leo Burnett’s name for them, coming to a country near you!
Another impressive looking truck technology I came across last week is shown here: http://plasmastreamtech.com/technology/. Basically putting “glow in the dark” purple plasma generators on trucks, with the primary purpose of reducing their wind resistance and a side benefit of making trucks stand out more at night. And perhaps even a bit scarier to overtake so people will think twice before dashing out wildly as seems to be the case in countries depicted here…!!!