Dive Brief:
- Grand Island, NE-based Sense Technologies, a developer and marketer of driver aids for the automotive industry, announced yesterday it will enter the waste collection service industry with blind spot detection technology.
- The company’s original product, the Guardian Alert, is described on its website as a versatile, cost effective, and user-friendly backing awareness system that used in thousands of commercial fleets and passenger vehicles today. It alerts drivers of obstacles in blind spots behind vehicles.
- The Scope Out product has specially designed mirrors placed at specific points on automobiles and SUVs, also to help drivers see blind spots while backing out, changing lanes, or merging.
Dive Insight:
Municipalities can invest millions a year purchasing and maintaining fleet vehicles. Meanwhile, those trucks are the source of more accidents than are vehicles in most industries, with two tragedies just endured in the past weeks in New York alone. A 2013 survey tracking truck accidents reported that garbage trucks were involved in a third of all fatalities, with an average 5.12 death per every 100 million miles driven.
NWRA, SWANA and its members are investing more than ever on safety to bring those numbers down— researching best practices, safety technologies, and protective gear.
Sense Technologies CEO Bruce Schreiner says, "We understand the unique challenges and blind spots created by refuse trucks. Our products assist drivers in facing these challenges as they navigate alleys, busy streets, and tight turns ... We are getting ready for a major marketing campaign that will highlight the Guardian Alert and Scope Out, two blind spot detection products, aimed at saving lives with affordable solutions."
