GreenRoad Technologies announced that Ryder has installed its GreenRoad Safety Center at select company locations. GreenRoad says Safety Center provides Ryder with a tool to improve safety performance on the road by reducing collisions and injuries through a positive driver-friendly approach. Ryder has been using GreenRoad for about six to eight months, says Sandy Hodes, vice president of safety, health and security, and deputy general counsel for Miami-based Ryder.
The initial pilot of GreenRoad began with 200 units in about eight customer locations where Ryder provides dedicated contract carriage. The speed of access to information and the cost of the GreenRoad Safety Center make it a better solution than what currently is available from onboard computing and mobile communications systems, Hodes says. Out of Ryder’s 168,000-tractor fleet, about 6,000 to 7,000 power units is the target number of vehicles that eventually will use the GreenRoad system, he says.
GreenRoad says Safety Center provides drivers with instant feedback while driving, as well as detailed online reporting when returning to their “home” location. By using Safety Center, Ryder can provide customers full visibility into their drivers’ actual behaviors, while at the same time reducing the number of required supervisory on-the-road driver observations, according to GreenRoad; it also enables Ryder to monitor its drivers at remote locations and provide them with immediate and customized coaching.
“We believe that the most effective technology to improve driver safety is the kind that provides consistent real-time feedback,” says Bob Prim, director of safety standards at Ryder. “Through this feedback, Ryder drivers receive immediate coaching that enables them to instantly modify their behavior.”
“Where we are really seeing the payback is with a lot of our drivers that are remote-domiciled,” Hodes says. “These drivers do not tend to see a manager all the time. The ability for a manager to impact driver safety goes up exponentially.”
GreenRoad says Safety Center works through a sensor in the vehicle that detects driver skill in five categories of maneuvers: speed, braking, acceleration, lane handling and turning. Every trip can be viewed online to show overall safety level and detailed information about areas for improvement. Each driver is given a safety rating of green (safe), yellow (moderate) or red (dangerous).
GreenRoad says its clients have reduced collisions by an average of 54 percent, lowered accident costs by an average of 49 percent, and decreased fuel costs by an average of 10 percent.
