Truck-Lite’s new Trailer Back Up Safety System provides a simple, cost-effective solution that improves backup safety and efficiency for a range of fleets, including tank truck carriers. The Clarience Technologies company highlighted the new system, which will be available for 2027 builds, during American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council annual meeting in Nashville.
“This system can be installed on any trailer with ABS brakes,” Molly Spaeder, Truck-Lite director of marketing, told Bulk Transporter. “Installations complexity will vary based on trailer specific design and construction.”
Most trailers still lack essential backup lighting and audible alarm systems needed for safe, confident maneuvering by drivers because adding these devices has been too costly for most fleets, Truck-Lite said. So the company set out to develop a streamlined and affordable solution that could be easily adopted by fleets and straightforward for OEMs to install, while providing immediate safety and efficiency benefits.
“The lack of visibility behind a trailer at loading docks, yards, and parking areas creates a challenge for drivers, with a real risk of property, equipment damage, and personal injuries,” Matt Mrakovich, Truck-Lite’s new VP of engineering, said in a news release. “Our goal was to produce a product to solve this long-standing problem, where fleets can easily justify the cost and time to add it so they can realize the benefits of having such a system on their trailers.”
According to Truck-Lite, benefits of the Trailer Back Up Safety System include:
- Injury reduction: Lighting combined with an audible alarm helps protect ground personnel by clearly signaling trailer movement during reverse maneuvers.
- Heightened driver awareness: The system alerts approaching drivers that the trailer is backing up, reducing the chance of vehicle‑to‑trailer collisions in dark or low visibility conditions.
- Improved operator visibility: Reverse lighting enhances what the trailer operator can see and improves overall situational awareness around the trailer.
- Cost avoidance: Reverse lighting reduces the likelihood of backing‑related vehicle or property damage.
- Efficiency gains: Better illumination improves driver accuracy and speeds up backing operations in dark or low‑visibility conditions.
- Proven ROI: A backup‑accident cost model shows strong financial returns based on national averages for collision frequency and repair costs.
- Cost‑effective solution: The Truck‑Lite system delivers these safety and efficiency benefits at a lower cost and with less complexity than alternative systems.
About the Author
Jason McDaniel
Jason McDaniel, based in the Houston TX area, has more than 20 years of experience as an award-winning journalist. He spent 15 writing and editing for daily newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, and began covering the commercial vehicle industry in 2018. He was named editor of Bulk Transporter and Refrigerated Transporter magazines in July 2020.