A Bendix Web portal for fleet operators now connects to three of the company’s most powerful onboard safety technologies. That Web service, SafetyDirect from Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, integrates Bendix Wingman Advanced – A Collision Mitigation Technology, Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program full-stability system, and SmarTire Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
A fourth onboard safety system, AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System from Bendix CVS, already was connected to SafetyDirect. Bendix purchased SafetyDirect and AutoVue from Iteris in 2011.
SafetyDirect reports safety information that is transmitted wirelessly from a fleet’s vehicles via telematics devices already on the trucks. The system can provide immediate warnings and critical safety information. For example, fleet operators easily can see if their drivers are having difficulty staying in their lanes – often a first indicator of driver drowsiness – or other potential problems, such as stability control activation, collision mitigation system activation or critical tire alerts.
Comprehensive truck-specific safety information is “all the more important in today’s CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability)-driven environment, where safety infractions can threaten your very business,” said T.J. Thomas, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions, Controls group. “One of the most common requests from fleets of all types has been for Bendix to provide wireless safety data, and now we have an outstanding solution with SafetyDirect.”
SafetyDirect collects data from the onboard safety systems into a Web portal and translates it into information that a fleet can use in daily operations. SafetyDirect provides real-time driver performance data, as well as event-based information – including video clips of severe occurrences – for analysis by fleet safety personnel and to aid fleets in developing targeted ongoing driver education and training.
Among the essential information on the portal are following-distance histograms, event counters and system usage details for each driver, information to help fleet managers identify risky driver behavior and provide drivers with targeted training they need to reinforce safe driving practices.
The system captures and reports events in more than a dozen preset categories, including excessive curve speed, lane changes without turn signal and forward collision warning. Data reports can be created for individual drivers and the entire fleet. Bendix can expand the system to meet a fleet’s particular needs by building in certain reporting functions, such as monitoring of tailgating.
