Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/215766
TECHNOLOGY: DRIVER TRAINING Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider National has developed an integrated learning model that consists of instructor-led, computer-based and simulation training to deploy the most effective training to drivers at the lowest overall cost. TARGETED TRAINING WITH TECHNOLOGY, CARRIERS MOVE AWAY FROM 'ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL' APPROACH BY AARON HUFF L ast August, a C.R. England truck was sideswiped at an intersection. A few hours later, Marcus Edwards, the company's director of corporate safety, saw the event unfold from his desk. Immediately, he knew the driver was innocent. The truck remained stopped until the traffic light turned green. Salt Lake City-based C.R. England, the nation's largest refrigerated carrier (CCJ Top 250, No. 14), currently is testing two video-based driver risk management (DRM) systems. Cargo Transporters (CCJ Top 250, No. 214) has had similar experiences using a 46 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2013 video-based DRM system. Last winter, a Cargo Transporters driver was on a two-lane road near the company's headquarters in Claremont, N.C. While rounding a corner, a passenger car coming from the opposite direction drifted into his lane. Instinctively, the truck driver moved over to the shoulder. The car continued on its deadly path but only clipped the truck's bumper. The video showed the truck driver had avoided a head-on collision by swerving off the road and overturning his rig. "The car driver told the state trooper at the scene that he was reaching for his cell phone," says John Pope, Cargo Transporters chairman. Even without this confession, the company had convincing evidence. While the number of truck crashes has been trending down for a number of years, accident–associated costs are rising sharply. On average, a single fatality costs $7 million; big judgments of $10 million and more are common. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the average payout per injury is $321,000; for property damage, $13,000. While video evidence can help put an end to frivolous lawsuits, the real reason video-based DRM systems are growing in popularity is to help eliminate accidents. The technology can help identify risky behaviors early and give fleets and drivers an effective training tool to eradicate mistakes that otherwise might become costly. CAUGHT ON CAMERA C.R. England has been testing systems from the two largest providers of video-based DRM technology: SmartDrive and Lytz, formerly known as DriveCam. Both continuously record forward-looking