Company Develops App to Control Truck Safety Systems | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The company Wabco has come up with an app for mobile phones that can monitor many of the safety systems on a tractor trailer. The product is called OptiLink and allows the truck driver to access 18 truck and trailer settings, including:

·         Air suspension

·         Brake release

·         Rear blind spot detector

·         Tire pressure monitoring

·         Traction control of rear axle

According to the company, it is the first mobile app in the trucking industry that remotely controls truck safety and efficiency systems. It currently is available for Android and Apple mobile operating systems. 

The manufacturers believe that the mobile app will allow truck fleet managers and drivers to boost vehicle safety and efficiency, and also increase the effectiveness and comfort of the drivers. Also, OptiLink should help to reduce operating costs. 

As Virginia truck accident injury attorneys who have seen the devastation that can be caused when a car and tractor trailer are involved in an accident, we are pleased to see advancements in the safety of commercial tractor trailers and big rigs. While cars and trucks may seem similar, they are actually are very different: A car often weighs a mere 4000 pounds while a fully loaded tractor trailer may weigh up to 80,000 pounds. This means they are harder to control, take much longer to stop, and the impact in a crash can be horrific.  

A truck crash often has terrible results, such as this case where we represented a young girl who suffered a brain injury after the car she was in was hit by a commercial tractor trailer in Virginia Beach, Va. Our client had her life turned upside down and will likely never be the same. This is why we were able to secure a settlement of $21 million for the family. So, we always are glad to see tractor trailers get safer with the use of 21st century technology