*clears throat*
You can pass if you want to
You can leave your friends behind
Because your friends can’t pass, and if they don’t pass
Well, they’re no friends of mine
S-A-F-E-T-Y… SAFETY… TRUCK
Yes, Samsung has invented the Safety Truck. The electronics company was apparently sickened by the number of car accidents that are caused each year by people unsuccessfully overtaking semi trucks on one-lane roads and decided to do something about it.
The Safety Truck is mounted with a wireless camera in front that sends constant live video of the road ahead of the truck to four outdoor monitors on the back door. The camera also has night-vision mode, so it can work 24 hours a day to help anyone following behind the truck to see both the lane ahead of the truck and the lane of traffic going in the opposite direction.
The idea is that not only will this live feed help you pass a slow-moving semi, but if something (like a deer) darts out in front of the truck and causes it to slam on its brakes, you’ll see that and react to it, too.
Samsung test drove their Safety Truck in Argentina until it stopped working, but they’re confident this prototype produced results they can take to other countries and work with governments to develop more systems like it. They’ve still got to figure out how to do that legally, so there’s no word on how much this would cost to install on a fleet of 18 wheelers in the States.
Below, you can see their Safety Truck promo video and how it works.
(Via Gizmag)