Fleet Operators Tap Connected Solutions to Speak Efficiency, Safety to Drivers

Efficiency and safety are always important to commercial fleet operators, but increasingly busy schedules triggered by supply chain challenges and a shortage of drivers have raised the stakes — and investment – in technology that can help keep things moving smoothly.

It’s a trend that was reflected in a trio of product announcements this week aimed at helping fleets meet today’s big-picture challenges.

Mitigating Costly Collisions

For starters, real-time, in-vehicle driver coaching is a new offering available from Geotab, General Motors (GM) Fleet and OnStar Business Solutions. This new safety service provides spoken alerts — rather than a beep, buzz or light — through the vehicle infotainment system to help encourage safer driving behaviors. The driver will also receive audio messages if their seat belt is unbuckled or if the system detects hard acceleration, hard braking or speeding.

And it’s not just for new cars — most Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models that are 2015 or newer and equipped with compatible OnStar can get access to this feature with the activation of a service plan. The software updates can be installed via over-the-air updates or by visiting a GM dealership.

“By integrating Geotab’s proven driver coaching service into our vehicles, we are helping our fleet customers by providing real-time verbal feedback to their drivers to keep themselves and others safe, while also mitigating costly collisions,” Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of General Motors Fleet, said in a press release.

Seeing What the Driver Sees

A connected dashcam that sends video clips to the cloud when triggered by harsh acceleration, braking, cornering or an accident is now available from EROAD. The company notes that the HD footage generated by the EROAD Clarity Solo Dashcam allows fleet owners to see what the driver sees with every safety event.

Footage can be used to coach the driver or to show video evidence to protect and exonerate drivers in case of an accident. The company notes that lawsuits against trucking companies are becoming more frequent, and the sums awarded in lawsuit verdicts are getting higher.

“Today, driver exoneration by video is an absolute imperative for fleet operators to protect their drivers and their businesses,” Jim Angel, vice president of video telematics at EROAD, said in a press release. “This is especially true for heavy short-haul fleets, such as waste and construction trucks, or light commercial delivery vehicles that are navigating challenging environments, like busy and construction-ridden city streets and residential neighborhoods.”

Reducing the Burden on Dispatchers and Drivers

Zonar has announced a mobile driver workflow platform to improve the productivity and efficiency of over-the-road truck drivers and their fleets. MobileCommand is compatible with major transportation management system platforms, enabling dispatch offices to see which vehicles are available and which drivers have hours available to complete specific jobs. It also keeps drivers informed in real time with messaging and company newsfeeds, enables them to submit related paperwork via a document scanner, and pre-populates routes to safely navigate to a destination.

Each time a stop is added, the system provides back-office dispatch with real-time alerts on a driver’s Hours of Service (HOS) status; the company notes that HOS is the most commonly cited out-of-service violation for drivers.

Wayne Deno, vice president of freight and over the road at Zonar, said in a press release, “Especially in a time when resources are under stress due to supply chain shortages, we aim to reduce the burden on both dispatchers and drivers with a platform optimized to ease communication and management.”