In the second week of December, 2014, Marty Vanderhoek, a life long trucker from Langley, B.C., Canada and the inventor of the Smart Lite was interviewed by FE Fleet Equipment Magazine.
The article appears below for your review.
Smart Lite aims to eliminate front end blind spots
Marty Vanderhoek, a life-long commercial trucker from Langley, B.C., Canada, invented Smart Lite to combat one dangerous area on a commercial truck – the front end blind spot. According to Vanderhoek, Smart Lite is a simple system designed to save lives.
All large trucks have side mirrors that a driver uses to view everything beside and behind the truck, Vanderhoek said. Although the driver can see behind or beside his or her truck the driver still cannot always see everything that is forward of the doors on the truck where the side mirrors are mounted. Smart Lite utilizes mirror to mirror technology to eliminate front end blind spots for professional drivers.
Smart Lite is mounted on both sides at the rear and at the top of a drivers truck. This is the place where the trucks reverse or back up lights are typically mounted on semi trailer trucks. Smart Lite is a replacement for the original back up lights that most trucks are equipped with but can also be installed as a new feature on a truck if the trucks reverse lights are mounted somewhere else on the truck. Smart Lite is manufactured with a back up light or turn signal on one side and a convex mirror on the opposite side, according to the company.
“The Smart Lite device is revolutionary in that it allows the operator to see what is occupying the space in that front end blind spot. Before Smart Lite there was no device or system that allowed the operator to make a 100% visual determination of what was beside him and a little ahead of his door. With Smart Lite that problem is now solved,” Vanderhoek said.
The device recently received an endorsement by the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia as a safety feature that greatly improves trucker safety, according to the manufacturer.
Marty Vanderhoek Talks About Smart Lite
About Smart Lite
60% of all truck accidents are directly contributed to the front end blind spot of commercial trucks. In North America alone over 5,000 deaths and 140,000 injuries occur annually. At Smart Lite we believe that those statistics are far too high.
What is Smart Lite? Smart Lite is designed to reduce crashes, to save lives and to reduce injuries. The system was designed by Marty Vanderhoek, a professional commercial truck driver with over 20 years experience in the industry. It is a simple, yet unique design that utilises simple mirror to mirror technology to completely expose the entire front end area of the truck to the driver from inside the cab. As a result. the device offers the driver a clear and unrestricted view of any vehicle, motorcycle, cyclist or pedestrian that could be in the front or blind spots or no zone area of the truck.
No high tech cameras, mirrors or unreliable beeper systems. With Smart Lite the driver instantly sees whatever is in the front and blind spot areas of the truck by a split second glance into the West Coast mirror. For more information on the Smart Lite system please visit our web page or contact us at info@xlite.ca
Marty Vanderhoek is a life long trucker from Langley, B.C., Canada whose been at the wheel since 1975, from fish to fruit he’s pulled it all.
His 35 years experience behind the wheel has taught him the many dangers that truckers face on a daily basis. One area is that front end blind spot that plagues every truck driver. How on earth can you see that car or motorcycle that is running beside you and a little ahead of your door?. Essentially, you can't! Until Now....
Drawing upon his 35 years experience behind the wheel Marty invented the Smart Lite; A simple system which he says is “A breakthrough in commercial trucking that will save lives” According to Marty "The Smart Lite device is revolutionary in that it allows the operator to see what is occupying the space in that front end blind spot. Before Smart Lite there was no device or system that allowed the operator to make a 100% visual determination of what was beside him and a little ahead of his door. With Smart Lite that problem is now solved."
Indeed, this simple yet revolutionary safety device is already being hailed by commercial truckers for its simplicity and effectiveness. The device has already received an endorsement by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) as a safety feature that greatly improves trucker safety.
"A Breakthrough In Commercial Trucking That Will Save Lives!"
