Krispy Kreme cuts accidents with telematics

The ability to combine telematics technology with the latest 3G vehicle cameras is giving logistics and road transport operators the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of driver safety performance. It is helping to provide a complete picture of how vehicles are being operated by capturing and analysing both driver behaviour data along with video footage of collisions, near misses and harsh driving events.

3G vehicle cameras are increasingly being used to improve road safety and reduce insurance costs. They are providing proof of what has occurred in the event of an accident, with immediate access to footage and supporting vehicle data. Global doughnut company and coffeehouse chain Krispy Kreme fitted the IT1000 3G device to its entire UK delivery fleet, made up of fifty 3.5, 5 and 7 tonne commercial vehicles, achieving 100 per cent clarity of all collisions and harsh driving events.

As a result, Krispy Kreme experienced a drop in incident and accident frequency from 7.45 driving events per week to just 1.49 representing an 80 per cent reduction. Furthermore, the camera solution has enabled it to prove blame and increase speed of intervention, resulting in paid motor fleet claims falling by over 40 per cent over a six-month period.

Elsewhere, the analysis of 2,000 commercial vehicles using a 3G vehicle camera found a significant impact on road safety with an average reduction in accident frequency of 45 per cent. The finding also highlighted that around 65 per cent of the accidents recorded were in fact avoidable, highlighting a clear opportunity to improve fleet safety levels through improved and targeted driver engagement.

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With advances in reporting technology, transport operators can now use a 3G device in combination with an existing telematics system or simply install an all-in-one camera and tracking solution to monitor best and worst performing drivers. For example, Intelligent Telematics’ Safety League Table uses GPS, accelerometer and video data to rank drivers using a points-based system, which enables companies to identify areas of improvement. This is helping to target a reduction in vehicle-related accidents through improved driver training and staff engagement initiatives.

The Safety League Table is supported by a range of up to 15 key driving parameters that cover all aspects of speeding, acceleration, braking, cornering and idling. In particular, this includes unique percentage overspeed, which calculates the proportion of time spent travelling above road designated speed limits, while engine brake usage, out of gear coasting and rollover braking can be monitored with added CANbus integration.

Vehicle operators can use the configurable dashboard to gain a high level overview of important fleet and driver information, with the ability to drill down to the required vehicle data and video footage. Meanwhile, the graphical and tabular reporting capability enables companies to analyse historical fleet data over a period of time to identify operational safety and efficiency trends. This can be used to not only track performance, but also measure the effectiveness of any driver training, reward and incentive initiatives.

The latest developments with integrated telematics and 3G vehicle camera solutions add a new dimension to driver behaviour monitoring, because it provides insight beyond simply logging driving events. Logistics and road transport operators can now find out exactly why and how something is occurring by accessing the associated video clips, and this added understanding, will enable them to implement or support targeted driver performance and training programmes. Ultimately, by reducing the number of harsh events occurring within a fleet, it becomes possible to minimise the chances of that future accident happening.