Do truck drivers know?

We've found that when we start educating non-truck drivers, we get asked a lot of questions. "Don't truck drivers realize that their brake lights don't come on when they are Jaking or downshifting?" We actually hear this question a lot when we are at trade shows and expos. As a matter of fact, it is probably the most popular non-truck driver question we get.

The answer we give is "yes and no", because, for the most part, truck drivers who think about it know that their brake lights are not on and those who don't think about it just plain don't think. Most truck drivers are professionals and understand their truck and systems very well, but, to be honest, there are always a few, as in any industry, who, let's face it, either don't think about it of just don't care. There are many drivers out there who either tap their brakes or give a quick tug on the Johnny bar before Jaking or downshifting, but that  just is not enough. They are plenty busy driving, shifting and watching mirrors, so keeping the brake lights on for more than a quick warning is not their main concern.

The main purpose of Slow-N-Tell is to get the attention of possibly distracted drivers behind trucks and to bring their focus back to where it should be. Brake lights do that, but a quick blink, on and off, of the brake lights just is not sufficient to do the job. Slow-N-Tell keeps the brake lights on until the deceleration event is over, whether the truck re-accelerates or settles into the new, lower speed, for more than one second. This gives following drivers a better picture of what the truck driver's intentions are and makes them aware of the truck's situation. If the truck is coming into a series of lowering speed zones, the brake lights will be "on" during braking events and "off" when the truck speed is stable.

Another benefit to brake lights is that several vehicles behind the truck get the signal all at the same time. This allows traffic to move together, as  a team, rather than the first car reacting to the truck, then the second car reacting to the first car and so on. Drivers who follow trucks that currently use Slow-N-Tell have seem to be much less prone to road rage toward drivers of the equipped trucks. Less road rage toward drivers means less stress, which leads to less driver fatigue, improved driver attention, and smoother traffic flow. Add that together with reduced accident rates and fewer highway deaths and we all come out winners!

Tomorrow, let's look at the "possibly distracted drivers" who follow trucks. What role do they play in all of this? Wednesday, we will look into our definition of "instinctive". I would love some input on Thursday and Friday's topics, so please let me know what you would like to read about.