Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/443069
42 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JANUARY 2015 TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER RISK MANAGEMENT period. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based flatbed carrier is putting cameras in all trucks with new drivers to "get a good look" at who they've hired, says Thad Penland, vice president. Within weeks of implementation, Cypress has seen its SmartDrive safety scores improve by 57 percent, with re- ductions in speeding and distracted driving by 58 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Pitt Ohio was one of the first fleets to use Bendix's SafetyDirect. "You coach the driver and show him what he did wrong, and he learns from it," Mer- cadante says. After several months of testing, Long Haul Trucking deployed the DC Protect program, part of Lytx's DriveCam product family. "Prior to the DriveCam program, you could sense when someone was a safe driver, but you couldn't actually prove it like you can with a video-based system," says Sue Brown, safety director for the Albertville, Minn.-based com- pany. "Now we have tangible evidence and can coach, reward and promote accordingly. Our compliance ratings have gone up as well, as incidents of seatbelt infractions disappeared almost immediately after the trial began." Expanding the view In addition to using forward- and driver-facing cameras, video intelli- gence platforms are able to expand visibility around the vehicle to detect risk further. PeopleNet is planning a system that uses small cameras installed in various locations around the vehicle. The video will feed into a separate vehicle-mount- ed DVR and be transmitted to an on- line portal for fleet managers to review along with critical event data. The system also will connect to PeopleNet's Mobile Gateway onboard computer to stream live video to in-cab driver displays, allowing drivers to see blind spots on the tractor's left or right side when using the turn signal and behind the tractor or trailer when in reverse. The company also is planning a "go- fetch" service designed to allow fleets to view video of a certain event, such as a loading activity, within 72 hours after it happened. The video intelligence plat- form will add driver data for a com- prehensive view, says Mike Nalepka, general manager of video intelligence solutions for Peo- pleNet. SmartDrive's risk management system can use up to four cameras to obtain a 360-de- gree vehicle view. The company's SmartDrive Assur- ance product line can be fine-tuned to match a fleet's specific operating environments and risk priorities. Kimrad Trans- port and its sister company, Bulk Crude Transport, oper- ate a combined 270 tractors that power a fleet of cargo tank trailers in West Texas and surrounding states. The Amarillo, Texas-based compa- nies plan to install rear-facing cameras behind the cab and on trailers. The cameras will integrate with SmartDrive to capture additional incidents and unsafe practices on video to protect the companies and drivers during the loading and unloading process. "There are lots of opportunities for drivers to get hurt and make mistakes," says Brad Pohlmeier, owner. Video intelligence platforms not only capture video and event data but also use the information to help predict future events, allowing fleet managers to resolve issues quickly that otherwise may go undetected. Kimrad Trucking of Amarillo, Texas, plans to install rear-facing cameras behind the cab and on trailers. PeopleNet's cameras will display a live feed from the truck's blind spots when the turn signal is used. Cypress Truck Lines of Jacksonville, Fla., began outfitting its fleet with SmartDrive following a testing and evaluation period.