The Fleet Business Authority
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instance. Once identified, these drivers can be given additional coaching on safe driving habits. Lytx's Bartels explains that lane de- parture warning systems trigger events differently than event recorders. For example, "when a driver starts to drift off to the right, the accelerometer inside an event recorder isn't tripped – there's no sudden movement or motion." Bendix's Wingman collision mitiga- tion system also combines video and data when activated. The system can capture a video clip of that event so the fleet can get an accurate context of what just hap- pened. Bendix's SafetyDirect application collects that along with other vehicle data via the truck's telematics system and com- piles it into reports, with events sorted in various categories such as excessive curve speed, excessive braking and activation of onboard safety systems. Active safety systems also may collect the types of information that can be used for driver coaching. Hans Molin, product manager at Bendix, says the system is capable of tracking trends and summarizing events by driver and not just by vehicle, so driver managers can get a better idea of the different drivers' behaviors regardless of the vehicle they are in. For instance, the summary may list a driver's average following distance, how often the collision avoidance system activates, how many lane depar- tures he or she has had, hard braking events, etc. Those can all be collected on a scorecard with driver rankings based on real data. "You can target the training based on that ranking and use the data you have to reinforce it." Collect and predict Predictive analytics is another tool carriers use to improve safety. "The most important thing is to focus on safety beyond an accident," says Vikas Jain, vice president product & program management at Omnitracs, and general manager of FleetRisk Advi- sors. By focusing just on an accident, fleet managers don't ask themselves "why safety happens," he explains. An analytic model such as those developed by FleetRisk, which take in all types of data, from driving perfor- mance, to messaging, to work schedule, provides a way for fleets to detect when a driver is under stress – and stress can lead to accidents. Scorecards can only go so far in this regard, Jain says. "A scorecard is an indi- cator of a driver's performance, not the safety risk he may be." This is because a driver's stress will build over time. What analytic models provide is a way for fleets to see subtle changes over time, across thousands of points of data. Maverick's Brown says his company has seen good results from these tools. The company "throws more data into the mix," he says, including unstruc- tured data like messaging. "We've found that the count of messages from drivers when combined with other data can be predictive in terms of their perfor- mance." The tools bring additional focus to "what we need to address or who we need to address," he adds. 48 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com Technology: Keeping Roads Safe What's the ROI? R eturn on investment with safety technologies can come in a num- ber of ways, according to vendors. Fleet managers should not look at the investment to deploy such systems as just a cost, says Rick Ochsendorf, senior vice president operations and product management at PeopleNet. He says that it is up to the technology providers to "educate fleets so they see it not as just an expense, but as something that brings value to their company" in terms of safety. "There is an understanding that there is a lot more ROI for the safety tools," he added. "When it comes to reducing accidents, staying in compliance or improving your safety rating, there is a lot of information that shows safety scores are directly correlated with the safety tools a fleet uses." Rob Bartels, senior vice president new ventures with Lytx, says that while "customers are looking to validate ROI – it's the lagging indica- tors that are important to a business." That would include things such as having the data and evidence necessary to exonerate a driver after a collision. "If you have a video that shows you are not at fault, it saves the driver his or her job and saves the company money" in terms of liability, insurance cost, etc. "If you can reduce those costs, it's an enormous sav- ings for the company." On their own, safety technologies won't always lead to reduced insur- ance premiums. "There isn't an automatic discount because of the use of safety equipment," says David Hagen, RSI Insurance Brokers. But he added that, "the use of safety technologies can result in discounts on insurance. The amount of a discount and whether or not a company is eligible depends on other factors." s a f e t y t e c h n o l o g i e s . i n d d 4 8 safety technologies.indd 48 4 / 3 0 / 1 4 1 2 : 5 0 P M 4/30/14 12:50 PM