The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/307131
monitoring system from Doran Manu- facturing integrates with several popular telematics platforms so that in addition to alerting the driver with a low-pressure alarm, the alert also can be sent to fleet managers in the back office making them aware of potential safety issues. A mobile communications/telemat- ics platform's ability to collect engine and vehicle data allows fleet managers to identify drivers needing more atten- tion via reports, scorecards or alerts. With real-time alerts, a fleet manager can get instant notification of excessive speeding or other event. As for scorecards, they allow drivers to see how well they are doing in terms of overall performance, fuel efficiency and safety. "There's nothing more powerful than a driver scorecard," says Ryan Bar- nett, director of market development with XRS Corp. "It's amazing how fast drivers will change their behavior" when they are able to see how they rank among other drivers. Beyond collecting engine and driver performance data that can be used for scorecards, event recorders capture what happened right before and right after an event such as hard braking, sudden deceleration, etc. Such devices are a combination of a computer, video camera and cell phone (or other communication mode), explains Rob Bartels, senior vice president new ventures at Lytx (which sells the DriveCam product). The video camera has a lens looking out the front and a lens looking back at the driver. The camera continually erases what it records until there is an event – hard movement, hard braking, U-turn, etc. – when the unit will record for a certain length of time before and after that event. In addition to video, the systems also record movement of the vehicle, GPS and other information. The system providers typically offer services that include review of each incident by the vendor's analysts with results presented via reports or dash- boards to fleet managers. The video provides a view of what the driver sees and what the driver is doing. In the case of a hard-braking event, for instance, a driver may have reached for his cell phone or taken his eyes off the road for a moment. The inside lens will capture that and that driver can receive additional coaching. Or it could be the driver had to brake to avoid a car cutting him off. Either way, the fleet has a better understanding of what happened. Active safety systems Many of the technologies being used by Con-way and Air Liquide are consid- ered active systems, designed to take action if a driver doesn't under certain situations. Meritor Wabco's OnGuard collision safety system, for instance, gives the driver an audible and visual warning if a rear-end collision seems imminent. The system's cruise control and active braking features will activate engine torque reduc- tion, the retarder and foundation brakes in sequence when engaged. If the driver takes action, the system disengages. The company also markets stability control systems that feature antilock braking, traction and stability control and roll stability control – all active safety systems. Integrating active systems such as these with event recorders gives driver managers an even better picture of driv- er performance. In March, Wabco and SmartDrive announced an agreement to allow Wabco's active safety systems to tie into SmartDrive's platform. According to Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive, the integration of the two systems "makes sure our cameras go on" whenever there is an alert from Wabco's lane-departure, collision- avoidance or rollover system. Mitgang notes that on their own, event recorder sensors may not react to a subtle shift in G-forces that collision avoidance or lane departure systems pick up. Combining the two systems allows fleets to know which drivers may routinely go into corners too fast, for 46 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com Technology: Keeping Roads Safe SmartDrive's event recorder includes a video camera with one lens facing forward and the other facing toward the driver. The recorder continually erases the video until activated by an event such as hard braking or an alert from an onboard active safety system such as collision avoidance. s a f e t y t e c h n o l o g i e s . i n d d 4 6 safety technologies.indd 46 4 / 2 9 / 1 4 5 : 0 1 P M 4/29/14 5:01 PM