The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) warns truck drivers that using a GPS navigation system designed for smaller vehicles could lead them into hitting low bridges. FMCSA distributed cards known as “visor card” to truckers as a sort of reminder.
The visor card directs the drivers to use GPS devices intended for large trucks. i.e with road restrictions like low bridges and weight restricted roads.
“These brand-new federal standards for GPS use among commercial truck drivers will be the first major steps to thwarting life-threatening bridge strikes that have been causing massive delays and imposing significant costs on taxpayers for far too long,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.
Teaching the industry how to eliminate GPS-related accidents must be one of the proactive approaches to be implemented in order to minimize the serious issue of truck accidents.
FMCSA also noted that they will require GPS device training as a part of an upcoming recommendation mandating training for all entry-level truck and bus drivers.
"About 80% of bridge strikes in New York state result from large vehicles whose drivers do not use the right navigation devices", Schumer said, citing a 2009 study.
See Admin's related article Are Commercial Drivers Really Hitting Bridges?
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