SynX Blog

Leading fleet management solutions provider, Transpoco Telematics, has launched a groundbreaking collision management system that uses cameras with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect driver fatigue and distraction providing for a comprehensive approach to the reduction of accidents.

With research showing that up to 40% of collisions occur as a result of driver fatigue, the technology is being welcomed by companies and organisations operating large fleets of vehicles who are looking to improve driver safety and reduce the cost associated with accidents.

Research undertaken by Transpoco into the causes of driver fault accidents has shown that in general:

• 40% are caused by fatigue
• 44% are caused by distraction
• 90% could have been avoided by using Advanced Collision Management and Driver Assistance System (ADAS) technology.

The Transpoco camera and data technology provides:

• warnings and alerts for drivers generated in cab for all incidents
• evidence of driver fatigue and distraction
• alerts available for review by the Fleet Manager
• full visual and data recording of all driving events.

The Transpoco collision management solution has already been commissioned by leading engineering solutions company, Actavo, which operates a global fleet of around 1500 Vehicles. Michael Burke, Actavo Group Fleet and Facilities Manager commented “By installing the advanced levels of technology provided by the Transpoco Collision Management system, we are leading the way in enhancing the safety for hundreds of our drivers, with the added benefit of fleet management efficiencies. This will result in our vehicles operating in the safest and most efficient way possible for our customers”.

Accidents are something fleets never would like to talk about, although when it happens, only their most visible costs are often dealt with, such as the repair bills or the insurance. The rest of the costs, which most likely never make it to the balance sheet, are no less important: losing team members because of injury or illness, loss of business because of delays caused by the accident or the unavailability of the vehicle, replacement expenses, loss of reputation has to be considered too and the best strategy to avoid this situation is to eliminate accidents entirely.

Most companies consider accidents to be unavoidable when in truth most are simply accepting them without taking action. What can companies with large fleets of vehicles do to dramatically reduce the number of accidents they experience each year?

#1 - Select vehicles wisely: choosing the right car or van and have it fitted with the proper equipment can indeed be an excellent start. Think about ADAS technology, parking assistance, emergency braking, distracted driving detection systems or telematics that can detect dangerous patterns and keep an eye on the road for you.

#2 - Speed of response after a crash: this is critical to minimising costs, as delays in reporting the incident to an insurer or incident management company drastically reduce the opportunity to capture and control the third party costs.

#3 - Complete driver training with human support: collisions, aside any physical injury, do have an effect on employees morale, particularly of those involved. Make sure you consider the driver's well-being, check if they are not suffering from depression or stress because of the incident and offer your help.

Driver fatigue is a complex problem, but with a good internal policy, suitable training and the help of technology, stressful or fatiguing situations can be avoided.

Photo by Thái An on Unsplash

The Irish Road Safety Week 2020 is being celebrated this week, from Monday 5 October to Sunday 11 October with many activities planned nationwide. The event is organised by the joint collaboration of the RSA (Road Safety Authority of Ireland), the Irish police force An Garda Síochána and the ITIA (Irish Tyre Industry Association). The focus is as usual saving lives and prevent injuries on the road.

Two are the main events happening this week at the time of writing (don't hesitate to check out the page of the event at https://rsa.ie/en/RSA/Road-Safety/Campaigns/Current-road-safety-campaigns/Irish-Road-Safety-Week-2020/):

• Tyre Safety Day: on October 9th, the Irish Tyre Industry Association invites all motorists to call in for a free tyre pressure check and thread depth inspection (you can find your nearest ITIA registered dealer at www.itia.ie). You can also download a copy of the PDF by the RSA "Your Guide to Tyre Safety" to learn more about safe tyres and how they contribute to safe driving, on how to choose tyres and how to get ready for winter weather. The RSA will also be airing its winter ready radio advert during the week: as winter is approaching, it is definitely time to make sure your vehicle is maintained ahead.

• Child Safety Day will take place on the same day, with lots of Road Safety Activities including Beep Beep Day. The latter represents a chance for preschoolers to learn road safety skills from a young age. On Beep Beep Day, children aged 5 and under will practise basic road safety skills with the Simon and Friends road safety storybooks, songs, games and activities. They will be able to learn more about high visibility goods and safety materials.

Photo Credit: https://www.rsa.ie/

Sussex Police recently released the dash cam footage of a crash that happened on 15th November 2019 to raise awareness on the use of mobile phone behind the wheel.

A driver lost his arm after texting behind the wheel, crashing into traffic signs and overturning his vehicle into traffic. The dash cam footage shows the crash, that happened in Brighton, Sussex and has been used by Sussex Police as "a shocking display of the consequences of dangerous driving".

The driver, who had to undergo an amputation and wished to remain anonymous, gave permission for the video to be released as part of a police crackdown on dangerous driving:

The video was made public after a week of action during which hundreds of offences were detected on the roads in Sussex.

Sussex Police Assistant Chief Constable Dave Miller said: "While we don't wish to shock and scare people with this footage, it's important that road users understand the serious consequences of the 'fatal five' offences: speeding, drink and drug-driving, mobile phone use, not wearing a seatbelt, and careless and inconsiderate driving.

By taking personal responsibility and driving safely and sensibly, you can help us reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured in Sussex and Surrey" ended Miller.

Drivers who kill others after speeding, racing, using a phone or due to impaired driving (under the influence of drink or drugs) could receive life sentences under new legislation, while the current maximum sentence is of 14 years.

The reform was announced last week in the and will be introduced in the UK Parliament early next year.

With the current lack of specificity in the law, drivers causing injuries or death can be only convicted of careless driving. This change was firstly announced in 2017 and now it seems there is actually going to be a timeframe stating when it will come into force.

The increase will apply to offences in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, which has separate road safety laws.

A consultation carried out in 2016 gave support for the new driving offence measures from victims, road safety campaigners and people who had lost loved ones. Of the 9,000 who responded, 90% thought there should be a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving. In addition, 70% of those who responded agreed the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving should be increased to life imprisonment.

Last year, 174 people were sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving, and another 19 for causing death by careless driving.

Photo by Nabeel Syed on Unsplash

The initiative known as Project Edward has this year Driving for Work as its leading topic.

After its start in 2019 as European Day Without A Road Death (EDWARD), Project EDWARD evolved into EVERY Day Without A Road Death and is going to be delivered in association with Highways England, Driving for Better Business, the Association of Road Risk Management (ARRM) and the charity TyreSafe to support the One Road, One Week campaign of police enforcement activity to be held this week, 14th – 18th September.

Photo by Alexander Popov on Unsplash

A recent study conducted by the Dutch Institute for Road Safety has shown that a significant and increasing number of drivers plays videogames while behind the wheel: in 2019, 8.2 per cent of the drivers interviewed admitted they had sometimes played games while driving, an increase of the 3 per cent from a 2017 survey. 70 per cent of drivers have admitted to use their mobile phones in some way while driving. Despite the different restrictions in force in the European countries and internationally, distracted driving remains a growing concern.

According to the WHO, drivers using mobile phones are 4 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers not using a mobile phone, as using a phone while driving slows reaction times (notably braking reaction time, but also reaction to traffic signals) and makes it difficult to keep in the correct lane, and to keep the correct following distances.

According to different sources, with the lockdown distracted and dangerous driving have increased despite the traffic increasing in some countries, adding up to the risk associated with the driving profession and those deriving from the spread of Coronavirus.

The use of mobile phones behind the wheel can lead to different driver distractions:

• Visual (the eyes are not looking at the road);
• Cognitive (the mind is off the road);
• Physical (the hands are on the phone and not on the steering wheel);
• Auditory (minor, but referring to the ringing of the phone or notifications sounds).

Not having your eyes, mind, hands and ears on the road can have the same impact as being impaired because of drug or drink driving, provoking slower reaction, erratic driving and trouble in maintaining appropriate speed or distance, with a global reaction of driver awareness that can lead to serious consequences. Commercial drivers are especially at risk now because of the repetitiveness and multitasking nature of their job and as their mental health can be more influenced by the extra risks coming into place with COVID-19. Make sure you support your driving team and talk to us if you want to learn more on how to eliminate distracted driving in your fleet.

Photo by melissa mjoen on Unsplash

According to an ETSC report made public in the month of July 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown had an impact on the reduction of road deaths overall in Europe.

In April 2020, 910 people lost their lives in road collisions in the EU25, compared to the 1415 on average during the reference period, accounting for a 36% reduction. As a term of comparison, fatalities on the road in the EU declined by just 3% between 2018 and 2019, and by 24% over the decade 2010-2019.

While these numbers can definitely be welcomed as positive, some other issues have arisen in the same timeframe, throughout the whole Europe, as it seems traffic volume has not decreased at the same level road deaths did, and speeding has increased.

The report lists the findings in the different EU countries, here is some of the data shared:

• Speed violations detected by a sample of fixed safety cameras have increased by 39% in Spain, where there has also been an increase in HGV occupant deaths
  
  
• An increase in global traffic has been experienced in Italy when lockdown measures have eased, with a greater use of private vehicles and a higher use of electric mobility
  
  
• In Hungary, police enforcement of COVID-19 regulations has led to less attention to traffic offences, with drivers taking advantages of empty roads to take more risks
  
  
• In the Netherlands, despite the pandemic containment measures led to less traffic and a lower total number of collision, but despite this, the number of road deaths registered increased by 13% in April 2020 compared to April 2017-2019 average
  
  
• In France, road travel decreased during lockdown, but speed cameras reported an increase of the most serious speeding offences (50% above the legal limit) compared with the same period of last year.

Dovilė Adminaitė, ETSC Road Safety Performance Index project manager, who led the research, commented:

“The Covid-19 lockdown has led to a huge disruption in mobility in Europe. There have been positive changes such as a rise in people walking and cycling and the installation of pop-up cycle infrastructure and lower speed limits in dense urban areas. However there will be big risks moving forward if people avoid public transport and prioritise car use in urban areas.  We need to rapidly improve the infrastructure for walking and cycling in urban, but also in rural areas. If governments, cities and towns don’t adapt to this new reality, the saving of lives on the roads during lockdown could soon be reversed.” 

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

Global Fleet Champions, a not-for-profit global campaign to prevent crashes and reduce pollution caused by vehicles used for work purposes created by Brake, the road safety charity, has recently published a new valuable resource to help fleet managers tackle the challenges coming up with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resource is a factsheet entitled Advice for fleet managers: Managing road risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, that covers some of the key road safety issues that have emerged with the Coronavirus crisis:

• Recruiting drivers to cover for possible absence/sick leave/quarantine of the workforce;
• Meeting an increased demand for deliveries;
• Ensuring a safe driving behaviour is taking place all the time;
• Reducing risks for cyclists or walkers as people tend to take public transport less.

As some research has revealed, quieter roads may lead to distraction or tempt drivers to speed, and the pressures of lockdown may encourage drivers who drink to drink more or consume drugs.

The factsheet gives simple tips on how to manage journeys, ensure vehicle safety, and look after driver wellbeing especially those coming back from lockdown, as well as giving guidance on what to consider when recruiting and training new drivers to meet increased demands for deliveries and other services.

Scott Williams, head of programme delivery at Brake, the road safety charity, said: “COVID-19 has changed the road environment around the world and has created new challenges for fleet managers. It is more important than ever that fleet managers review their policies and procedures to manage work-related road risk."

You can find the resource on the Global Fleet Champions website at https://globalfleetchampions.org/resources/factsheet-managing-road-risk-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/.