He was driving on the Long Island Expressway on Thursday July 16, 1981 traveling in the left lane at approximately 65 mph.  For some unknown reason he engaged the emergency flashers near Exit 40 in Jericho, NY. He slowed to about 15 miles an hour and veered into the center lane.   Nearly colliding with another vehicle, he swerved back left, then back right.  But this time he swerved directly in front of a Supermarkets General tractor-trailer truck. The driver could not brake in time and rammed the rear end of the blue 1975 VW Rabbit, rupturing the gas tank and causing it to burst into flames.  Unfortunately, the truck that ended the life of singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was one that I had leased to Supermarkets General. That incident began my advocacy for safety specifications in the equipment we lease.

Today, new technology offers solutions.  DSRC, the acronym for Dedicated Short Range Communications, is a two-way, short-to-medium wireless communications capability in transportation vehicles.  The Federal Communications Commission allocated 75 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for use by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). 

To read the full article click here:

http://fleetowner.com/safety/dsrc-and-its-acronyms-behind-life-saving-technologies