Drivewyze announces that its Driver Safety Notifications pilot project initiative was named as a finalist for the national “Infrastructure of Things” Award issued by ITS America.
The pilot project involves delivering real-time in-cab safety alerts called Driver Safety Notifications to truck drivers as they travel in high-risk areas on interstates and freeways across six states. The project measures the effectiveness of safety notices delivered using Drivewyze-enabled in-cab hardware to participating drivers of one of the nation’s largest fleets.
The notifications warn truck drivers as they approach 37 high-frequency rollover crash sites on highways in Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee. ITS America chose the project as a finalist under the “Infrastructure of Things” category.
“We’re extremely pleased that ITS America has recognized the great potential Driver Safety Notifications has in positively impacting driver behavior,” said Brian Heath, president and CEO of Drivewyze. “We’re excited about the possibilities that this service has for further enhancing the safety of commercial truck drivers and the motoring public.
“The success of these notifications has encouraged other state agencies to look at establishing Driver Safety Notifications at high-risk locations in their jurisdictions,” Heath said. “We are now providing automated safety messages to more than 1,000 drivers within the pilot and will continue to analyze and report on the safety benefits of this important service.
“Our state agency partners have played a critical role in the realization of this pilot project,” Heath added. “These six states have shared safety-critical information using Drivewyze’s automated and safe in-cab messaging platform, and this information is now being delivered where it’s needed and when it’s needed to drivers on the roadway.”
Drivewyze first established a driving behavior baseline using data from more than 15,000 trucks prior to delivering actual safety notifications to pilot participants, Heath explained. This allowed for a comparison of driver behaviors before and after the delivery of safety notifications, and the ability to measure the impact of notifications on driving behavior.
“When we analyzed the results, we found statistically significant changes in driver behaviors and vehicle speeds,” Heath added. “Commercial motor vehicle enforcement agencies realize they can positively affect changes in driver behavior by providing them safety notifications when and where they need them most. Based on Drivewyze analytics reporting, carriers are able to use the data to identify high-risk events and the drivers who are candidates for individualized safety coaching.”
Heath said that the next phase of the pilot project is to expand the program to other states. “We are encouraging more states to join in the project, which is provided at no cost to participating agencies. The goal is to join together and offer drivers from across the country a national safety notification network to improve driver safety, reduce crashes and, ultimately, save lives.”
