How Fleets are Keeping Driver Safety in Check – Safety

Carefully addressing the perennial considerations of fleet security is an space that has been important to many profitable fleets through the years, not simply with the adoption of telematics options that assist monitor driver behaviors, but in addition the incorporation of extra superior driver-assistance system (ADAS) outfitted autos.

Thankfully for fleets, ADAS applied sciences have turn into more and more customary on base-level trims of newer model-year autos. Certainly, Alex Might, senior supervisor of fleet at Rollins, Inc., mentioned that roughly 60% of his fleet is now outfitted with ADAS tech.

Nevertheless, one in every of his greatest challenges with introducing ADAS outfitted autos is ensuring drivers perceive how the expertise works, with an emphasis on clarifying that these applied sciences are designed to assist good driving behaviors, not function an alternative to their driving capabilities. 

“They’re referred to as help techniques; they’re not substitute techniques for drivers,” he mentioned. “There are occasions the place these techniques could not work correctly, and so the drivers simply must be simply as conscious on the street.”

Additionally essential, Might mentioned, is for his drivers to embrace these techniques, and never few them as irksome distractions.

“We need to make sure that they’re not turning the techniques off, whether or not it’s because the system makes beeping noises or perhaps one thing else that simply annoys the driving force,” he mentioned.

Whereas Might has discovered successes in his fleet by guaranteeing these security applied sciences are made more and more accessible to his drivers, he mentioned he hopes that telematics knowledge will in the future have the ability to accumulate extra data on driver conduct by means of the ADAS applied sciences, as means to additional enhance fleet security.

“At this level, telematics techniques don’t actually have the flexibility to speak to the car from the standpoint of the ADAS techniques,” he mentioned. “All the issues that we develop our scorecard from, by means of telematics, we actually can’t see that from the ADAS techniques presently. I believe if we may faucet into the ADAS expertise we may look deeper into driver conduct. This I consider, may assist us pin-point and proper dangerous driving habits and probably stop accidents earlier than they occur.”

Marca Brown, supervisor – fleet optimization, DTE Power, additionally famous that security was vital to her fleet’s success throughout modernization efforts she spearheaded.

“Security is all the time the highest precedence at DTE, and we’re proudest of what we’ve achieved not solely to standardize our fleet specs, however to additionally make autos as protected as doable,” she mentioned. “We like to present our drivers the most secure autos that match inside DTE requirements, that features taking concepts from our FMC associate, our upfitters, drivers, and our inside enterprise unit companions and changing them to autos that permit our drivers to do their job safely and successfully.”

DTE’s autos have standardized ADAS security choices, corresponding to backup or cross site visitors screens, lane departure, pre-collision help, blind spot data, and auto excessive beam. Much like Might of Rollins, educating drivers in regards to the options made accessible on fleet autos is a vital a part of her fleet processes.

“As well as, as a result of a few of these applied sciences are new to our drivers, we’re within the course of of making a sequence of movies that show the brand new expertise, use it, and the way to ensure it’s operational,” she mentioned.

Final yr’s 2020 Fleet Visionary of the Yr winner, Aleece Beaulieu, senior program supervisor, transportation Genentech, echoed sentiments about how security was a significant factor to current successes she has seen along with her fleet. 

“We partnered with our environmental well being and security companions to finish a threat evaluation as to why drivers have been moving into accidents, with the aim to cut back our accident charge,” Beaulieu mentioned. “The outcomes supported including extra security expertise options to our autos as customary in the course of the ordering course of. So now, these options are thought of customary for any new car orders.”