Parcel carrier LSO deploys SmartDrive video-based safety program

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Updated Jul 13, 2015

Sdsi 12SmartDrive Systems announced that regional parcel carrier LSO, formerly Lone Star Overnight, has adopted its video-based safety program. LSO delivers throughout the Southern states of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana and in Mexico.

According to the announcement, LSO selected SmartDrive technology as part of its commitment to enhance safety. Since the implementation of SmartDrive began, LSO has seen its safety score improve by 47 percent. The score is measured by SmartDrive and has a direct correlation to reduction in crash rate.

The company has also benefitted from the visibility of key areas it can focus on for continuous improvement.

“With countless distractions faced by today’s driver, we knew that adding video to our safety program would have a meaningful impact on our fleet safety,” said Steve Hendon, safety and compliance manager at LSO. “In addition to being easy to use, SmartDrive’s video-based safety program helps us identify and address high risk areas, including cell phone usage, driver fatigue, rolling stops and seatbelt compliance. Armed with this information, we were able to quickly and productively engage drivers on areas for improvement and measure the results with easy-to-understand, easy-to-act-on key performance metrics.”

SmartDrive’s video-based safety program identifies the high risk driving that leads to collisions with an open platform that captures video, vehicle, audio and driving data. This footage is automatically offloaded for expert review and analysis to determine what is happening on the road.

LSO references video footage during driver training meetings to address issues and recognize drivers that have demonstrated good driving skills. After LSO deployed the SmartDrive program at one of its sites, the fleet improved seatbelt compliance by 100 percent, while mobile phone usage and texting were reduced by 90 percent and 69 percent, respectively. Excessive speeding incidents were cut in half, while incomplete stops were lowered by 82 percent and unsafe following decreased by 77 percent.

“We are proud to have been selected by LSO, a fleet with a focus on customer service and among the highest shipping reliability records and lowest damage rates in the industry,” said Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. “LSO’s focus on safety demonstrates that investment in video has a positive ROI.”

The SmartDrive system has also helped identify driver fatigue issues, capturing risky nighttime driving and providing video for further coaching and training. In addition, video provides insight into driver and vehicle behavior in response to calls reported via the company’s complaint line.

Hendon added: “It feels good when you can go back to the driver and showcase the information that the SmartDrive video-based program is providing on their behalf. It also gives us an opportunity to thank them for handling their job professionally. While our drivers were initially reluctant to embrace in-cab video, they quickly saw the benefits.”