New technology could slash truck crashes, fatalities

The Trucker News Services

5/9/2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some prominent Memphis, Tenn., investors have teamed up to roll out an intelligent mirror technology that could revolutionize the trucking industry by reducing truck crashes and fatalities, according to MSNBC.

Mike Starnes, founder of M.S. Carriers; Pittco Capital Partners, the private equity firm of AutoZone founder J.R. 'Pitt' Hyde III; and Morgan Keegan & Co. are all major investors in LaneScan LLC, a new trucking technology company that is offering mirrors that could help eliminate truck blind spots, the leading cause of truck crashes and fatalities.

“Drivers rely on their mirrors and LaneScan makes these mirrors a substantially superior safety tool,” said Starnes, an investor and member of the company's board of directors. “LaneScan will cut down blind spot accidents, and that's a very good development for the trucking industry.”

According to the Department of Transportation, blind spots are responsible for 35 percent of large truck crashes.

LaneScan, which will be based in West Chester, Pa., offers two products, Go Zone and Auto View, that company officials say will give drivers greater visibility and cut down on crashes and other accidents that can stain a driver's record.

With the touch of a button, Go Zone allows truck, bus, RV and SUV drivers to extend their side mirrors and see lanes of traffic that were previously obscured by their vehicles or trailers. When they release the button, the mirror will return to its original position.

“This is a low-tech, low-cost blind spot solution that should appeal to every truck fleet operator,” said Phil Van Wormer, LaneScan president and CEO, in a statement. “This is the culmination of six years of development and testing. We are very upbeat about this technology.”

The $500 products can be used on almost any large truck, including car haulers, utility trucks, waste and tanker trucks.

Auto View works a little differently, using the same technology but rotating the right mirror outward in proportion to the right rear corner of the trailer, which enables drivers to see the right side of the vehicle through a wide right turn of 75 degrees or more.

“We had a lot of problems when I was running M.S. Carriers with drivers when they were making a right turn taking out a telephone pole or fire hydrant or something,” Starnes said. “The other thing is when they were backing into the dock, they were backing into the blind side, and you can't see the corner of the trailer when you're backing in. It's always a real tight situation when you're backing into a dock because you've got trucks or trailers next to you.”

The company will focus on getting existing trucks fitted with the new technology, then target truck manufacturers.

“Our strategy is to initially supply the pent-up demand for a blind spot solution through retrofits on existing trucks and move as quickly as possible to offering our LaneScan Safe solution as an Original Equipment Manufacturing option,” said Andrew Seamons, managing director of Pittco Capital Partners, in a statement.

Chip Grayson, head of Morgan Keegan's investment banking division and a member of the company's board, said the product is long overdue and should be a hit with drivers and fleet owners.

“The trucking industry has been looking for a blind spot solution for more than a decade,” Grayson said in a statement. “We think LaneScan is the right solution at the right price.”

Starnes, who built M.S. Carriers into the country's fifth largest trucking company before selling it to Swift Transportation Inc. in 2001, said he is excited about the venture, and that the product should be easy to sell to owners interested in reducing costs.

“I think fleets can readily justify the incremental cost of the mirror over the life of the truck because it will save accidents and a lot of lives and property damage,” said Starnes, who is now the president of Tennessee California Express, a Memphis-based transportation and logistics company. “I get deals run by me all the time, and we pass on 98 percent of them. But this was one thing that really got my attention because we know the practical application of it.”

The company has been testing the technology with trucking companies and cities in the Northeast and about 6,000 vehicles have the technology installed.

“With this mirror, drivers can flip it out there and look up the road and see across three lanes of traffic,” Starnes said. “It helps their driving record, and it gives them a sense of security.”

--The Trucker Staff