Safety is the priority for any distributor, trucking company, or driver. Safety has a lot to do with the person behind the wheel, but every bit of help is needed to keep the roads safe. Luckily, many new truck safety technologies show plenty of promise in 2025.
Side guards are the best piece of truck safety technology as they protect cars, cyclists, and pedestrians from getting swept underneath trucks. Data-driven fleet management systems are also essential as they help monitor, route, and manage fleets of all sizes. Driver drowsiness detection systems and collision warning systems can help prevent collisions that could be deadly.
Truck safety has as much to do with drivers as it does with the available technology. Innovations continue to make the roads safer for truckers, drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike. Follow along as we highlight the top truck safety technologies to watch for in 2025.
Top 6 New Trucking Safety Trends
1. Side Guards
Truck lateral protective devices, or side guards, are the biggest advancement in truck safety in years. Side guards fit onto the side of trailers and commercial trucks. Their main purpose is to protect cars, pedestrians, and cyclists from getting swept under trucks.
This is invaluable whether you’re on the highway or a tight city street. Truck side guards are custom-made to fit the dimensions of any given truck. That includes sanitation trucks, concrete trucks, roll-off trucks, and dump trucks alike. Side guards can save lives and give commercial truck drivers some much-needed peace of mind.
They are especially useful in cities where drivers must mind cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. However, small cars can still get swept under trucks on highways, so they are useful in every setting.
2. Data-Driven Fleet Management
For years, routing and managing fleets took a lot of careful planning and communication. Today, new technologies make it easier to route and manage truck fleets. These telematics systems utilize a wide range of data to help direct truck fleets.
Such data involves everything from fuel consumption and cargo temperature to driver behavior and tire pressure. This technology works wonders to prevent emergency maintenance situations and collisions alike. Companies can tailor this data to their cargo, fleet, and route.
Data-driven fleet management is the future of the trucking industry as it offers unparalleled organization. Granted, it still requires a human touch as that will always be a part of the industry. Even still, data-driven fleet management can work wonders to save lives, time, and money.
3. Collision Warning Systems
Commercial truck crashes are often devastating for all parties involved. After all, a fully loaded commercial truck and trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. That’s why commercial truck drivers must do everything they can to reduce the risk of collisions.
Today, collision warning systems are more advanced and available than ever. They consist of cameras, lidar, and radar sensors that can identify collision risk factors. For example, they can quickly identify slowed or stopped vehicles in front of you.
Some systems simply alert drivers to threats whereas others take over control of the truck. For example, adaptive cruise control collision systems can stop a truck in time to avoid a collision.
4. Driver Drowsiness Detection
Fatigue is one of the leading causes of accidents whether you’re driving a commercial truck or a personal car. That’s why commercial drivers can only drive 11 hours at once before taking a break. However, that doesn’t mean that every driver follows the rules, and that’s a recipe for disaster.
Today, commercial trucking companies can invest in driver drowsiness detection systems to protect their drivers. Such systems monitor your steering habits and track how long they’ve been on the road. They can detect signs of fatigue-induced reckless driving before it’s too late.
Drowsiness detection systems can even monitor your face to detect signs of fatigue. Hopefully, this new technology will become an industry-standard in 2025.
5. Rearview Cameras
Rearview cameras aren’t quite new, but they have gotten much better with time. It’s no secret that commercial trucks provide less visibility than sedans and pickup trucks. Such blind spots make parking and reversing quite difficult, threatening driver and pedestrian safety.
Rearview cameras eliminate this problem, and they work wonders to protect commercial truck drivers and pedestrians alike. Installing rearview cameras is also a small investment that commercial trucking companies can justify.
6. High-Tech Training
The rise of artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies has impacted the world of truck safety. Such technologies let people learn how to safely navigate common trucking hazards without getting in a truck. Now, people can use virtual reality systems to undergo truck safety courses.
High-tech trucking simulators give people the chance to get a taste of what such hazards are like. While practical experience is more realistic, VR training programs offer plenty of value. This, paired with intensive courses can work wonders to prepare future truck drivers for many common road hazards.
We Are Here to Keep Your Fleet Safe
At Dur-A-Guard, our top priority is to keep drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and your truck fleet safe. We achieve this with our custom-made side guards that keep cars and pedestrians from getting swept beneath trucks. Call Dur-A-Guard at (908)-688-0800 to learn more about our durable side guards.
