Have you seen the video of the Samsung Safety Truck yet? If the answer is no, don’t worry, it’s right here so you can answer the question after you watch it. If you have, get to answering. Let us know what you think. I’m torn. I absolutely see the benefit of being able to see what is in front of a truck you can’t see around. With that regard I think it is a great idea, after all who of us hasn’t been on a two lane road somewhere far from anywhere and had to do the swerve and peak to try and see around a big rig in front of us.
But will people also end up getting caught up in it and staring at the screens rather than paying attention to what else is going on around them? You know, like if the truck decides to slow down! What if someone hacks into the wireless system and plays a football game on the back of the truck? That would be distracting for normal Americans.
I’m not really sure. It seems like such a smart idea in so many ways, which automatically gets me thinking there must be something wrong with it as well. I know there is, I just don’t know if those are less important than the lives that are saved by having it.
What do you think? What’s the good, the bad, the ugly?
Editor’s Note from McTaggart:
I’m all about safety in reasonable amounts. Seat belts, stricter driver’s training and periodical driver testing are intelligent methods to maintain safety on public roads. Then there is the group of people who go flying off of the deep end and go for broke. Remember the motorized “mad mouse” seat belts of the late 1980s, or even better, the ignition defeat system of the early 1970s? Sure, in theory they were great ideas, but they were failures that didn’t work well. Looking at Samsung’s new Safety Truck system, I’m a little torn as to which side I’m on. On the positive end, I’ve driven on single-lane roads in places like Illinois and Missouri and have found myself stuck behind many a semi truck, usually out of the Gilster Mary-Lee facility, and have to play the weaving game in order to safely pass and return to a speed that isn’t glacial. On the other hand, Samsung has plastered four big-screen televisions onto the back of a semi trailer, rigged up a camera to the front end of the truck, and now drivers behind the truck can just make a break for it. And night time driving has to be fun behind the semi…I don’t care if it does have a night mode, that’s still four screens blasting some method of light towards another driver. What do you think, BangShifters?
I find it ironic that the passing vehicle is a CR-V. I’ve never seen those rolling roadblocks exceed 35 MPH.
Two points. Which kills more, blind passing on two lane roads or tailgating on any highway, particularly interstates? And second is our highway system THAT far behind on development that we need something designed for two lane roads? I grew up in some DAMN small towns but all of them are within 10 miles of an interstate exit now.
Theoretically, great idea but reality, dumb. I see more rear end collision with those screens on the back.
I think it’s a great idea. Should definitely help in accident avoidance.
My opinion, and ONLY my opinion….in my, nearly, 45 years of professional driving, all over the U.S., in all major cities, in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of road hazards….it ain’t gonna make any difference. On paper, it looks good but in reality, people are still gonna do stupid things and disregard ANY life-saving device every invented.
I’ve got a great idea – Hack into the rear screen video and put on some extreme porn just as sucker in a Prius is about to overtake on a crowded road at night in foul weather…
Kaboooooooooooooooom!
I like that idea!
We could also play some Mumford and Sons concerts on it and use the truck to Pied Piper the hipsters out of a town!
Terrible minds thinks alike
Since too many people have a hard time NOT using screens while driving this seems counter productive and a distraction. Real world ? This ‘Merica watch the lawyers and lawsuits stack up. Liability is whose ? Also anyone who has driven a truck knows the trailers take a beating in regular use, don’t know how 4 flat screens are going to like backing into a dock over and over, or rain rocks bugs snow sand ya’ know the road. Watch your fleet manager cry at repair costs. Neat idea, cool concept, not ready for the real world tho’
Distraction? Hell, it’ll be fewer than 4 nanoseconds ’til they rent it out as a billboard.
People will still pass the truck that’s doing the speed limit or over and then go three miles an hour slower. If it encourages evolution and helps clean up the gene pool I’m all for it!
Anyone else notice the blatant obvious sales pitch by a company who makes flat screen TV’s promoting that the 50 million semi trucks on America’s roads should have four flat screens on the back of their trucks?
DING DING DING!! Someone get this man a chicken dinner ‘cus he’s the winner!
You\’d think a passing lane every five miles would be more sensible.