Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/936627
commercial carrier journal | february 2018 49 COVER STORY: DRIVER PERFORMANCE better results, Doyle says. Telematics provider Blue Tree Systems developed a driver performance app for Android and Apple devices that fleets can use as a companion for its in-cab fleet management system. Fleets can configure the app's 360 Driver Scoring feature for spe- cific metrics and weights. e app has three driver scoring categories: compliance (hours of service and road speed limits), fuel perfor- mance and safety. Drivers can view updated scores in each category daily. When driv- ers click on a score, the app gives coaching advice. One of the app's safety metrics shows the time from when a driver lis his foot off the accelerator to when he applies the brakes. e metric is an easy way to determine if a driver is looking ahead and maintaining a safe following distance, says Charlie Cahill, president of Blue Tree Systems. A driver ideally should be coasting for a few seconds before braking, and the time period is different according to the driver's average speed, Cahill says. e company's data generally show that safe drivers with an average speed above 30 mph have at least two or three seconds between accelerat- ing and braking, he says. Video reviews Video safety systems are able to detect a wide range of risky driving behaviors, and recent developments have focused on applying machine vision to expand the number and complexity of exceptions for driving behaviors that contribute to accidents and poor performance. Omnitracs' Critical Event Video is an option for its in-cab fleet management platform. e company is working on a new CEV feature to monitor driver behaviors at stop signs and traffic signals. CEV uses an outward- and optional inward-facing camera to capture and transmit video of safety-critical events such as sudden deceleration and speeding. With the new feature, CEV will be able to determine if a driver stopped at an intersection where a stop sign or red light was present. Engineers are developing algo- rithms to use machine vision to detect stop signs and to compare the vehicle's speed and position to a database of stop sign locations. Omnitracs also is working on new machine vision algo- rithms that will use video from its inward-facing camera to detect driver distraction patterns. Examples include eye movement and cell phone and seatbelt usage. But while cameras add another layer to managing driv- er performance, the volume of information also presents new challenges. "It is unreasonable to review every video stored or cap- tured," says Lauren Dominick, Omnitracs' senior director of analytics and modeling. To help fleets manage driver behaviors more efficiently, Omnitracs is developing a CEV feature that will prioritize video events for review by fleets depending on what areas of performance they wish to target. If a fleet wants to run a safety campaign on seatbelt use, safety managers can review a daily driver scorecard to identi- fy videos of drivers with problems in that area. Lytx's optional ActiveVision service, which can be added to its DriveCam platform, uses machine vision to detect patterns of risk caused by lane departures, distracted driving and unsafe following distances. Lytx now has DriveCam installed in more than 400,000 vehicles, and ActiveVision is outfitted on more than 50,000 of those vehicles, says Brandon Nixon, chief executive officer. e company has more than 70 billion driving miles in its overall database, which is growing at a rate of one billion miles every two weeks, Nixon says. Blue Tree Systems' driver performance app scores drivers in the categories of safety, fuel perfor- mance and compliance. Omnitracs' Driver Center portal brings together driver perfor- mance data from multiple sources.