by JAMES S. KIM | @james_s_kim
editor@charactermedia.com
Overtaking a truck on a two-lane highway isn’t always the easiest task in the world. But what if we could see through the truck instead of cautiously attempting to peek around the edge of the semi?
Samsung’s experimental Safety Trucks could provide a solution in the near future. Utilizing a combination of wireless cameras and four Samsung monitors, the Safety Truck seeks to make driving on single-lane roads easier and safer.
Samsung Tomorrow wrote in a blog post that the Safety Truck technology can also help reduce accidents caused by sudden braking or animals crossing the road. The camera and displays also support night vision.
Samsung ran a pilot test with a prototype of the Safety Truck in Argentina, which has some of the worst accident rates in the world. While the prototype truck is no longer operational, the technology does work. With this in mind, the company said the next step would be to work with safe driving organizations and the government to obtain permits and approvals, as well as make sure any future versions of the Safety Truck comply with existing protocols.
Forbes brought up a few questions and potential issues—for one, would the system end up causing more problems than it proposes to solve? How distracting would the screens be, especially at night? How reliable will both the camera and display be in bad weather? Also, will the screens would be prime targets for stealing and/or vandalizing?
Regardless, if all things check out for Safety Trucks, there’s a possibility that the new tech will help reduce South Korea’s high number of road deaths. In 2014, South Korea was reported to have the second-highest traffic fatality rate among 31 OECD member nations, according to Yonhap News Agency.
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Featured image via Samsung Tomorrow
