Top Safety Features Every Commercial Truck Should Have, But Often Don't

Commercial Trucking Companies Cut Corners on Safety—and Innocent Drivers Pay the Price

When trucking companies ignore safety, these massive vehicles become deadly weapons on the road. The technology exists to prevent truck crashes, but too many companies refuse to invest in safety features—putting profits over people.

"Trucking companies know what safety features save lives. If they aren’t putting them on their trucks, they’re making a choice—a choice that puts profits over people’s lives. And that’s unacceptable." – Founder, Amy Witherite

If you've been hurt in a commercial truck accident, you deserve compensation for your injuries, lost wages, and suffering—but you’re also helping hold these companies accountable for their negligence.

Why Safety Features Matter in Commercial Trucks

When a fully loaded semitruck weighing 80,000 pounds collides with a passenger vehicle, the results are catastrophic. Without the right safety technology, truck wrecks cause life-altering injuries and fatalities every day.

• Over 4,000 people die in truck-related crashes every year.
• More than 130,000 people suffer serious injuries in trucking accidents annually.
• Many of these wrecks could have been prevented if trucks were equipped with proper safety features.

The trucking industry knows what can prevent these tragedies, but instead of prioritizing safety, too many companies skip essential safety features to cut costs.

Key Safety Features Every Commercial Truck Should Have

1. Electronic Stability Control (ESC): Prevents rollovers and jackknifing by automatically applying brakes when a truck starts losing control. Required in all new commercial trucks since 2017, but older trucks still on the road may lack this life-saving feature.

2. Collision Mitigation Technology: Uses radar and sensors to detect impending crashes and automatically apply brakes to prevent rear-end collisions. Reduces rear-end truck crashes by up to 71%, but not all trucks are equipped with it.

3. Lane Departure Warning Systems: Alerts truck drivers when they drift out of their lane due to distraction or fatigue.

4. Blind Spot Detection Systems: Trucks have massive blind spots that make it impossible for drivers to see smaller vehicles. Blind spot monitoring alerts truckers to nearby vehicles, preventing dangerous lane-change crashes.

Commonly Overlooked Safety Features in Commercial Trucks

Some of the most critical safety systems that could save lives are still not required on all commercial trucks:

• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) – Helps prevent rear-end crashes by automatically applying the brakes when a truck gets too close to another vehicle.
• Adaptive Cruise Control – Adjusts truck speed automatically based on traffic flow, reducing sudden braking and jackknifing risks.
• Driver Fatigue Monitoring Systems – Uses AI and camera technology to detect drowsy drivers, reducing the number one cause of truck wrecks: fatigue.

If these features were standard in all commercial trucks, thousands of accidents could be prevented every year.

The Digging for Dirt Program: Exposing the Safety Violations They Don’t Want You to See

Trucking companies know they should be prioritizing safety, but instead of adding life-saving technology, they often cut corners and hope no one notices. That’s where our Digging for Dirt Program comes in:

• We Demand Internal Safety Records – If a company had ignored safety concerns, we would find out.
• We Get Black Box Data – Proving if the truck was speeding, braking properly, or operating without critical safety features.
• We Uncover Maintenance Violations – If the truck was overdue for repairs or lacked required safety inspections, we hold the company accountable.
• We Investigate Company Policies – Was the driver forced to skip rest breaks? Was the company ignoring federal safety regulations? We find out.

Trucking companies do not want you to know what they’re doing behind the scenes. But we make sure their negligence comes to light.

Don’t Let Negligent Trucking Companies Get Away with It—Call Witherite Law Group Now

Maybe it happened on I-35 in Dallas, where a trucking company sent an 18-wheeler on the road with faulty brakes. Or on I-55 in Chicago, where an overloaded semi tipped over, crushing smaller cars in its path.

When trucking companies ignore safety features, innocent people suffer. You’re not just fighting for your own compensation—you’re helping expose safety violations and forcing the industry to change. Contact Witherite Law Group today for a free consultation. Let’s hold these companies accountable—together. Available 24/7.