Rear-End Accidents – Can they be Prevented?

Rear-end accidents are extremely common, as a majority of people have been involved in a rear-end accident, either as the cause or the unlucky recipient of one. In fact, roughly 1.5 million rear-end accidents occur annually, which make up 23% of all accidents. That’s a huge number and a huge expense for both the drivers involved and the insurance companies, especially when a majority of rear-end crashes are preventable. Besides educating drivers on the importance of proper road safety, the utilization of such high-tech devices as a Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system as part of a fleet safety program is crucial in reducing the number of rear-end collisions on the road.

A Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system – what it does
A fleet safety program’s Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system basically acts another set of eyes when the driver is distracted or just not paying attention to the cars on the road. The system’s intelligent forward-positioned camera takes snapshots of the cars in front and relays that information to the system’s electronic chip-based application, which then computes the Time to Contact (TTC) with the vehicle ahead. In other words, the FCW system is able to calculate when a driver would theoretically crash into the car ahead if the same speed would be maintained. That knowledge would be crucial for any fleet safety program.

How and when the driver is alerted
The fleet safety program’s FCW system alerts the driver through both visual and auditory methods up to 2.7 seconds prior to impact. That time gives the driver enough time to prevent or reduce a possible accident. The visual notification occurs as a red flashing icon on the system’s display unit, while the audible alert comes in the form of an emergency beep. This two-pronged notification system is designed to capture the driver’s attention as quickly and effectively as possible in order to prevent an accident.

A small expense
When considering the alternative, installation of a fleet safety program’s FCW system is extremely cost effective. With its high-tech design (multiple applications on one small chip), it offers relatively low expense to install and operate. Add to its extremely user-friendly technology, there’s every reason a company should utilize the FCW system for its fleet safety program.