Fleet Driver Risk Solutions
to the Driving While Texting (DWT) Epidemic
DWT is an acronym for “Driving While Texting” and what began as a infrequent concern for Fleet Directors or company management has become a full blown epidemic of Fleet Driver Risk with Multi-Million dollar settlements already awarded for the reckless loss or life or property due to this disabling driver behavior.
At this moment how many fleet drivers are engaging in known, proven dangerous activities while driving company vehicles, that are:
* Endangering their lives and the lives of others
* Endangering the damage or loss of your companies vehicle
* Jeopardizing the loss of multi-Million dollar settlements
* Tarnishing your company reputation in the market or community
Your Fleet Drivers Are 23 Times More At Risk
From a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI):
* A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.
* A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.
* A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.
For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes texting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.
“In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cell phones while driving.
They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.”
Failure To Act Penalties are Staggering
Private fleets are facing a Tsunami of risk and the potential losses in capital, assets and much higher fleet insurance costs could amount to a metaphorical tidal wave that could wipe out company profits if a manageable mechanism is not incorporated to help reduce the incidence of this dangerous driving behavior, and proper management oversight is not in place ASAP.
$49 Million dollars awarded In Trucking Accident Involving Texting
How many companies can suffer the loss of $49,000,000.00 without serious damage to their structure or core? Most small to medium sized companies will be wiped out or bankrupted with a single settlement of this magnitude.
There is a low cost alternative to multimillion dollar liability lawsuits, that will help them enforce the current laws and provide substantial management oversight in the goals of preventing accidents before they happen.
Current Fleet Driver Risk Solutions For “Driving While Texting“ (DWT)
Incorporate DWT Materials into Professional Driver Training
The most basic form of driver awareness to these dangers is in a formal training environment, from the start with periodic reinforcements, and case studies when appropriate to try to keep this at the forefront of the driver’s awareness as to the costs far outweighing the benefits. While this should be an integral part of the solution, this is optimism at best to believe that telling an driver they should not do something, that is now ingrained in their culture, will have any substantial effect.
Company Policy No Cell Phones
It is already unlawful for Interstate or heavy duty truck and bus drivers to use their cell phones when driving, it is still a daily driver behavior that cannot be eliminated as it is so hard to detect and widespread. While a company is free to tell their drivers they must not have a cell phone while in the vehicle, the actual number of employees who will follow this policy may fail to stop usage. Again this is a must for all companies to set a professional tone with their employees and project a public image of responsible attention to the safety of those their drivers share the roads with.
Often this is more a means to try to deflect blame and public outrage when the company driver ignores what the company policy is and spends time texting friends or loved ones while driving.
Driver Cameras Alternative
Those who rely on a conventional driver cam or event recorder to stop DWT, are wasting their company capital and providing a false sense of security and Federal compliance. The same smiling salesperson who was happy to take your order may have a hard time getting back to you when your company or agency is named in another $49,000,000.00 lawsuit that you believed their event recorder would prevent.
Hindsight like truth, can be painfully honest, and no matter how quickly we learn from our mistakes, the knowledge gained form that pain, it will not bring back the loss of life, damaged public relations, loss of property, it will merely provide the proper perspective that you were deceived to believe a passive device could ever provide a proactive alert in time for an accident to be prevented.
* Drive Cameras cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
* Event Recorders cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
* Telemetry Data Recorders cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
* Windshield Driver Cameras cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
* Bus Video Cameras cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
* Vehicle Surveillance Cameras cannot alert you when your drivers are “Driving While Texting” (DWT)
None of the above products saved a single one of the
5,500 People Killed Every Year Due to “DWT” accidents
The solution to the “DWT” epidemic is Cell Phone Detection & Immediate Active Alerts, standard in the Professional Series MVS-SSD4CPD. Cell Phone Detection & Immediate Alerts helps insure Federal “Driving While Texting” Compliance
The Problem
How valuable is it to have a Event Recorder or Driver Cam show you a good image of your driver “Driving While Texting” after the fact,
after the loss of life, after personal injuries, after the destruction of company assets, private property and after your company driver has
opened up a Pandora's Box of litigation?
Would the knowledge that your company got a good deal on a cheap Driver Cam in any way help to defend your company against the
tsunami of negative public opinion, not to mention a precedent settlement of $49,000,000,00?
The Solution
Mobile Video Systems LLC of CA, is now offering the first driver use Cell Phone Detector. This device can now discriminate between use
of a cell phone from the drivers seat or immediate area, and use from authorized users who are not driving. This unique device developed
and integrated specifically for the Professional Series MVS-SSD4CPD “Active Mobile Video” system, can now proactively defuse the threat
of undisciplined drivers who expose those who employ them to massive risk, with total disregard for life, property or federal mandates /state
statutes.
Prevention is the best defense against the tidal wave of “Driving While Texting” risk, and the tsunami of lawsuit and settlement costs incurred
from what can now be detected and can now be actively stopped before the accident.
Active Mobile Video With Live Cell Detection Option
The Best deterrent to a drivers use of a cell phone is a mechanism that can detect cell phone use by the driver, record a
single image of the driver violating law and company policy, then actively alert the CMS Operator or supervisors via PDA, Blackberry while sending them the image of the driver caught in the act, as well as a link to a short video clip pre event and post event to get a detailed view of what occurred.
Human Nature is not quickly changed. Texting is now part of the social media technology and as such those engaging in this activity are invested at a emotional level. On the emotional scale of reasons for texting, on one end of the scale for laudable reasons such as to stay in constant touch with loved ones who may be ill, or the other end of the spectrum of pathetic sycophant who just wants to be popular with their peers, those with no regard for restrictions on their behavior when they are alone will often do as they wish without regard for possible consequences.
When drivers are on their own with no supervision or oversight they often do what they please. Those who believe Federal laws, State laws, company policy will prevent them from texting are part of the problem. They are exposing their companies to Fleet Driver Risk, they are jeopardizing their company reputation, public image and physical assets.
A single CMS Operator running the "Active Mobile Video" MVS-SSD4CPD or 8-Channel version MVS-SSD8CPD can monitor up to 45 drivers activities in 3G Live View, and at the first Active Alert by the Cell Detection option, signaling cell phone use, they can engage the 2-Way Intercom and remind the driver "Cell phone use while driving is a crime and grounds for immediate termination from this company".
This is the first functional and effective Real Time solution to this problem before the use of the phone can cause an accident to take the lives of their company driver or others. The use of the "MVS-SSD4CPD" & "MVS-SSD8CPD" with Live View via CMS Operator the most effective means of Fleet Driver Risk Management relating to cell phone use.
When lives are at stake, there is no substitute for "Active Mobile Video" w/ Cell Phone Detection from Mobile Video Systems .
Active Driver Safety Levels of Control & Oversight
In the Professional Series SSD4 based systems, the system alerts drivers to preset limits on the vehicle operation that are set by the owner or a fleet manager/ administrator. These preset limits will alert drivers when they exceed the normal operation of the vehicles that have been predetermined.
This integration provides Professional Series Fleet Driver Risk Management at its best, providing multiple levels of management oversight, multiple data transmission methods and creating a network based Cellular Gateway that others in the company or who may need to know can access from remote locations.
Levels of Oversight Provided By "Active Mobile Video"
Active Mobile Video systems provide multiple levels of management oversight from simply reminding the driver they are doing something unsafe to alerting management and opening a Live View with 2-Way communication.
Active Driver Alerts
This is as simple as a audio alert to the driver to remind them they have exceeded a preset threshold of driving parameters. Common examples would be speeding, hard turns, hard braking, over idling.
E-mail Alerts to CMS Operator
The next level of oversight provided will be alerts to the CMS Operator, so they may now be aware of the incident or driver behavior.
E-mail Alerts to Supervisors
The next level of oversight provided will be alerts to the supervisor who may be in the field, so they may now be aware of the incident or driver behavior via PDA, Blackberry.
E-mail Screenshots to Supervisors
The next level of oversight provided will be screenshots to the supervisor who may be in the field, so they may see a screenshot of the incident or driver behavior via PDA, Blackberry.
E-mail Video Clip Links to Supervisors
The next level of oversight provided will be video clip links via E-mail to the supervisor who may be in the field, so they may watch the video file of the incident or driver behavior via PDA, Blackberry.
Live View With 2-Way Intercom
Once events have made it to a level that is either life threatening or simple requires management to take a very active role this can be achieved by directly viewing what is going on in the vehicle and in front of it by Live View and then a 2-Way communication can be opened with the driver to ascertain what problems may be evident and who to best resolve them in a safe manor.
This is Professional Series Fleet Driver Risk Management at its best, providing multiple levels of management oversight; multiple data transmission methods and creating a network based Cellular Gateway that others in the company or who may need to know can access from remote locations.