72.5% of America’s freight moves on trucks, according to American Trucking Association figures. And each month, the Department of Transportation registers more than 40,000 commercial driver’s licenses.
Everyone wants their fleet drivers to be safe, be on time, be efficient, and promote business growth. More and more companies are also looking to incentivize good driving behavior through driver incentive programs to inspire their drivers.
While there are multiple ways to motivate a workforce, let’s look at how technology can help fleets achieve results in this area.
Technology does more than monitor fleet drivers. It can play an instructional role in teaching and coaching improved driving behaviors. In-cab automated voice alerts can offer real-time advice to the driver when they speed or brake harshly. By prompting drivers to avoid unsafe driving, a ticket or crash can be averted.
Keeping an Eye on Driver Safety
94% of fleet managers who use Azuga GPS say that fleet management provides more information about their fleet than before. Innovations allow fleet managers to gather more information than ever before.
- Crash or Roll Over Detection: If your vehicle is in a crash, the program will instantly notify you by phone or email.
- Emergency Button: By pushing this button, the fleet driver can get help via hands-free communication over the mobile network.
- Work Alone Timer: The fleet manager receives an alert if the driver hasn’t returned to the vehicle by the driver’s specified time.
- Seat Belt Use Alerts: Notify fleet managers when drivers are not wearing a seat-belt and alert the drivers.
- Exception Alerts: The fleet manager is notified via SMS or a phone call if the driver is involved in any major rule violation.
Signal Jamming Detection: A protective measure that detects the use of GPS and GSM jammers. This technology helps prevent vehicle hijacks and uses GPS to retrieve stolen commercial fleet vehicles.
It is not just the drivers that can improve. GPS tracking solutions can also enhance the actual vehicle’s performance and maintenance. This improvement can mean significant savings for small businesses and larger fleets alike. Innovations in fleet performance can drive up to a 53% improvement in wear and tear on vehicles, reducing fleet management expenses. New technologies also allow fleet managers to stay updated about the maintenance of their fleets.
- Vehicle Inspection Alerts: Before and after a trip, the fleet driver gets a checklist of trip instructions and vehicle inspection.
- Driver/Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIR): Entirely digitized checklists promote ease of use.
- Driver/Fleet Scoring: Since drivers can see leaderboard updates, safety scores can introduce gamification, allowing you to give rewards to top performers. This friendly competition promotes safety and also identifies which fleet drivers need coaching.
Buzzer Device Impact: Assistance and Alarms for Fleet Drivers
Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is a technology in which cameras and sensors connect with the fleet vehicle’s computer. The ADAS system looks out for speed limit signs, lane markings, and other drivers. It improves driver behavior with real-time feedback.
Working with a telematics solution, ADAS allows fleet managers to analyze day-to-day driver performance and identify those in need of coaching.
ADAS can help raise safety and reduce fleet costs associated with accidents by sounding a timely alarm of an impending collision.
Azuga's fleet dashcam automatically records up to 10-seconds of video before and after an incident related to hard braking, sudden acceleration, or hard cornering. Video clips attach to individual driver breadcrumb reports that include specific details such as time, date, location, and speed. Videos are then analyzed and given a video risk score to help fleet managers determine whether drivers are at fault for incidents and whether driver coaching is needed.
Life-saving Driver Alerts
App-based general alerts can help commercial fleet drivers deal with weather conditions such as snow or storm warnings and select safer routes. These help companies save fuel, deliver better service and keep the consignments safe.
Two other important areas of focus for fleet driver protection are Driver Distraction Warning and Fatigue Detection Systems. These systems monitor driver posture and detect hand gestures and yawns. They detect erratic speed variation and inter-lane driving, issue a warning to the fleet driver, and initiate other appropriate action.
As per Azuga's accident risk model released in 2018, accident risk rises by 9.1 percent for every mile driven during high-risk hours between midnight and 3 AM. The proprietary risk model leverages the analysis of actual accident data from over 6,000 vehicles. Additionally, accident risk increases by 8.3% when a fleet driver is fatigued and behind the wheel for more than six hours.
Detection systems trigger a variety of alarms. Voice instruction, buzzers, and visual alerts are all used in safety training. This real-time intervention is valuable as a timely warning. It is gaining acceptance as a feature of an updated suite of telematics solutions.
Ready to incorporate these fleet technologies into your business? Contact Azuga for a demo today and learn about the many ways we can help you improve safety and productivity across your fleet.
