Iteris, Inc., a leader in vision-based technologies and Intelligent Transportation Systems that optimize traffic flow and enhance driver safety, today announced that Prime, Inc. (Prime), one of North America's most successful refrigerated, flatbed and tanker carriers, has achieved an 85 percent decrease rate in run-off-road and rollover accidents since deploying Iteris' Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system.
Prime, based in Springfield, Missouri, began upgrading the safety of its national fleet of over 2,700 leased and company-owned trucks with Iteris' LDW technology in early 2006. During that year, trucks not equipped with Iteris' LDW systems traveled 328 million miles and had a combined run-off-road and rollover accident rate of 0.19 per million or one every 5.3 million miles traveled. At the end of 2006, Prime equipped 515 trucks with Iteris' LDW systems. These trucks traveled 33.3 million miles and experienced a run-off-road and rollover crash rate of 0.03 per million or one in 33.3 million miles traveled. This represents a decrease of 85 percent, a significant number considering the substantial costs associated with heavy truck crashes.
In 2006, Prime's total cost for run-off-road and rollover accidents for trucks not equipped with LDW was over $3 million. For the 515 trucks currently equipped with Iteris' LDW system, Prime estimates it will save approximately $551,000 on an annualized basis on these types of accidents. When compared to the cost of equipping these trucks with LDW, Prime will recognize a positive return on its investment in just over eleven months.
"The initial investment Prime has made to install Iteris' Lane Departure Warning systems in our fleet of trucks has really paid off," said Robert Low, founder and president of Prime, Inc. "In less than a year, we have seen a dramatic reduction in run-off-road and rollover accidents on the trucks we equipped with the technology which has saved the company a considerable amount of money. We're anxious to get all of our trucks equipped as soon as possible, so we can reduce our accident rate even further."
"Our goal is to assist truck fleets in achieving a significant return on its safety investment through the deployment of our LDW technology and Prime is an excellent example of how effective our system can be," said Bill Patrolia, director of North American truck sales for Iteris. "Prime was one of the first large fleets to make our LDW technology standard. They were sold on the potential of LDW to save lives, make our highways safer and provide a positive financial return. We are thrilled that Prime has had such great success in its first year of deployment and believe we can assist more fleets in achieving these benefits."
Prime becomes the third major fleet in the last year to report a significant reduction in LDW-related accidents since deploying Iteris' LDW technology in its trucks. The three fleets combined have reported over 256 million miles traveled with LDW and a combined LDW-related accident reduction of 82 percent.
Iteris has sold over 30,000 LDW systems to the heavy truck market worldwide representing an estimated 3 billion miles traveled per year. In the U.S., there are currently 40 fleets specifying Iteris' LDW system with a combined fleet size of nearly 20,000 trucks and another 69 fleets with approximately 144,000 trucks conducting field tests.
About PRIME inc.
Prime, Inc. is the largest refrigerated carrier in North America. Founded in 1970, Prime Inc.'s corporate headquarters are located in Springfield, Missouri. For more information on Prime Inc., visit www.primeinc.com. Professional drivers are encouraged to stop by Prime's terminal at the intersection of Interstate 44 and Highway 65 in Springfield, Missouri.
About Iteris, Inc.
Iteris, Inc. is a leading provider of outdoor vision systems and sensors that optimize the flow of traffic and enhance driver safety. Iteris combines outdoor image processing, traffic engineering, and information technology to offer a broad range of transportation and safety solutions. Iteris, Inc. is headquartered in Anaheim, California. Investors are encouraged to contact us at 714.774.5000, or at www.iteris.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon our current expectations and the information available to us at this time. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "can" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the performance and expected benefits of our technology and LDW systems, commercial vehicle and automotive standards and our future prospects. These statements are subject to change and we undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
Important factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to the market acceptance of our technologies and of the products that incorporate our technologies, commercial vehicle and automotive production schedules and agendas; and the timing and successful completion of customer qualification of our products and the risks of non-qualification; market acceptance of our LDW system and the vehicles that incorporate our systems; our ability to specify, develop, complete, introduce, market and transition our products and technologies to volume production in a timely manner; the potential unforeseen impact of product offerings from competitors and other competitive pressures; and the general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the general economic slowdown and volatility in the automotive sector. Further information on Iteris, Inc., including additional risk factors that may affect our forward looking statements, is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other SEC filings that are available through the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).
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