Visualizing Safe Driving

Onboard monitoring devices, including cameras that record both what the driver is doing and the world outside the windshield, are designed to help fleet managers identify and retrain

Some, but definitely not all, insurance underwriters may offer fleets incentives to install safety monitoring.

For now, the relatively new equipment is more likely to be found on lighter-class vehicles - from limousines and passenger buses to delivery vans - than on over-theroad trucks.

Managers using in-cab monitors who spoke with iTECH liked the results so far.

"Our accident rates have fallen by more than 50% [since] we installed our system with cameras," said Michael Belcher, director of safety for DS Waters of America, Atlanta, which runs a 2,000-vehicle private fleet, ranging from delivery vans to Class 8 trucks, to distribute bottled water to home and office clients in 30 states.

DS Waters bought a camera system from DriveCam, which is a 10-year-old San Diego, company; and Belcher said it has saved the fleet at least one potential liability.

"A refuse truck ran a red light and "nit one of our trucks," Belcher said. "It was one of those events that could have come down to one driver's word against another's. However, the camera showed the other vehicle was at fault, and the refuse company paid for everything."

Belcher added that the company's insurance premiums were lower, but he could not say by how much.

Two insurers, Aon Corp. and National Interstate Insurance Co., told iTECH they offer subsidies to fleets to install the systems and discount premiums for safe operating records.

Other underwriters reported that they do not reduce premiums for fleets with onboard monitoring, because they are not convinced the systems improve overall safety.

Aon Corp., Chicago, one of the largest insurance brokerage and risk management firms in the world, has agreed to subsidize customer installations of systems from SmartDrive Inc., a competitor to DriveCam.

Greg Golden, chief operating officer of Aon's truck insurance division, said the main purpose of an in-cab camera "boils down to modifying driver behavior."

He said SmartDrive, San Diego, targets about 50 driver errors, unsafe practices and distractions, including tailgating, failure to buckle the seat belt, speeding, using the cell phone and eating while driving.

Another insurance firm willing to subsidize installation of camera systems National Interstate Insurance Co., Cleveland, a subsidiary of Great American Insurance - has agreements supporting both DriveCam and SmartDrive systems.

"Our customers are really buying into this," Mark Lipstreu, NIIC's assistant vice president of truck transportation, said in an interview. "More than 1 0% of our customers have signed up to install cameras already. Some of our clients in the passenger sector, both limousine and charter buses, have made it mandatory."

Lipstreu said the system is "gaining momentum on the trucking side."

NIIC clients get a $400 subsidy to cover the cost of installation.

"We also make coaching and training available to them," Lipstreu said. "If a fleet implements [a system] seriously and shows a reduction in accidents, we'll also lower premiums after 12 months."

Fleets may choose their levels of driver monitoring. The fundamental system is an onboard computer that gathers engine readings and truck movements, especially speeding, hard braking, swerving, lane changing and acceleration.

Depending on the vendor, as many as 120 different truck movements can be tracked and reported, including when a driver takes a corner at too wide an angle or too fast.

A camera adds the visual dimension. Both SmartDrive and DriveCam have small, double-lens cameras in place so that one lens watches the driver and the other, the road. Mounting on the rearview mirror is common.

"The driver is aware the camera is there watching him watching the road," Aon's Golden said.

The camera also keeps a visual record of the moments - say, 12 to 15 seconds - before and after accidents.

Golden said a system that records what happened in an accident can be a plus for the driver as well as the trucking company, because truckers monitored that closely are less likely to cause accidents. If an accident does happen, the record may help determine fault.

"You only have to see one driver get exculpated by a camera for an accident, and the other drivers line up to ask for a camera," Golden said.

Greg Drew, chief executive officer of SmartDrive, said some drivers are initially leery of the cameras, but accept them once they realize that only recordings of accidents are kept.

There are companies that offer monitoring without cameras. These firms include Qualcomm Inc., San Diego; PeopleNet, Chaska, Minn.; Ivox Communications, Sudbury, Mass.; and GreenRoad Technologies, Redwood Shores, Calif.

GreenRoad Technologies features a display on the dashboard that flashes green, yellow or red lights to warn a driver of how far he has strayed from a safe maneuver.

Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and driver training at Schneider National Inc., No. 9 on the TRANSPORT TOPICS list of the largest for-hire carriers in the United States and Canada, said the Wisconsin-based fleet recently launched pilot projects involving dozens of trucks, each with DriveCam and GreenRoad Technologies equipment.

"I believe we will see significant improvements in safety with both systems, which allows Schneider to monitor driver performance almost in real time," he said.

Osterberg said a reduction in insurance premiums was a more elusive goal.

"What we're seeing is an exponential rise in the cost of settling each accident," Osterberg said. "The cost of the same accident five years ago was much less than today, so that you have to continually increase your safety record just to stay equal in insurance premiums."

One major fleet is developing its own monitoring system. UPS Inc., No. 1 on the TT 100 for-hire list, has just begun using telematics to alter driver behavior, which the company expects eventually to lead to lower insurance rates.

"We have developed our own propriety algorithms and don't use any outside firm," said Donna Barrett, a UPS technology spokeswoman. The algorithms address not only safety goals but also fuelsaving driving practices.

Of its 60,000 vehicles, UPS had equipped 1,500 package delivery vans with monitoring systems, as of midyear.

Barrett said UPS' "primary motive at this point is to look at where we can improve safety." However, she said UPS does not believe it has enough data to isolate risky drivers or predict overall safety behavior.

"One of the potential uses that we see is to reduce insurance costs, but we're not there yet/' Barrett said.

Other freight fleets are content to do without monitoring.

"We don't do a lot of high-tech stuff and we have a great safety record," said Bill Wilson, vice president of safety and risk management, Central Freight Lines, Waco, Texas.

"We have a pretty stable driver group and we do a lot of regional LTL over the same routes, so we don't feel the need for new safety equipment."