Certainly there are a lot of jobs where you must be multitasking, and for a truck driver, this job is no exception. If you are a driver you know that you must be always alert to all the things that happen while you driving. Simple things like answering the cell phone, turning the radio on or off or eating can be very unsafe for you and for the rest of the people next to your truck. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that truck driver's distractions are responsible of 25 to 50 percent of all vehicle crashes in the US.
Maybe a cause of this is that truck drivers have a lot of technology that can disperse their attention from the road, but sometimes the driver is guilty of these accidents. For example, a drivers will begin the journey and receive call on their cells; when they answer they miss one hand on the wheel and this may cause an accident or sometimes it is because they are tired. But not all the technology is bad; a company called Logex Inc. (that transports industrial gases) uses some system that helps the drivers to avoid this things. For example when they hear a rumble strip sound, it is an indication that they are deviating from between lane markings without using the turn signal. There is another beep that indicates the truck is very close of another objects in relation to the truck's vehicle, and another beep indicates that the truck is in danger of a rollover, etc. All this can help, but the question is, how can the driver recognize all the sounds and beeps for every situation?
Today, truck manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) work to develop tools that help the drivers eliminate the distractions on the road. What is the perfect solution? You must be the most careful possible while you maneuver your truck. Nowadays most trucks have a "smart dash" or message center where the driver receives all the information (visual and audible) of a specific location. This way, they can be prepared for any inconvenience on their way. For example, Volvo trucks have an integrated system for text messaging and vehicle information and Freightliner's smart dash is located on top of the instrument cluster under the driver's view to limit distraction.
All the distractions on the road (including non commercial vehicles) can cause accidents. Some statistics demonstrate that there are 1.2 million crashes per year and 284,000 of those crashes are caused by distractions while driving. Remember that you cannot be distracted when you drive, because you expose your life and those of others.