Drivewyze’s new Safety+ offers fleets the ability to create customizable, proactive driving alerts and context-based driver coaching to help commercial truck drivers improve their safety scores and create a safer environment on the roadways.

Available through the Drivewyze software platform that is currently available on more than 2.2 million ELDs devices, Safety+ requires no additional in-cab hardware and is also available through the Drivewyze mobile app. The new service warns drivers, through audible and visual cues, of approaching safety “pain points,” which may include areas along routes that have seen a number of speeding incidents in the past.

“With some of the fleets that have been piloting this system before the release, we have seen a 27% reduction of speeding incidents since July of this year,” said Charlie Mohn, product manager at Drivewyze, during a recent demonstration of the new system.

Fleet managers can also use the Drivewyze Hub portal, a back office tool, to create their own customized driver alerts, while also reviewing safety analytics to monitor driver behavior and improve driver coaching.

“Safety+ fills a gap in our industry by providing customizable in-cab safety notifications and a hardware-free driver coaching service accessible and affordable to fleets of all sizes,” said Brian Heath, president and CEO of Drivewyze. “We improve road safety where and when drivers need it most. And, we give fleet managers actionable intelligence on how drivers respond to in-cab alerts — allowing for results-oriented driver training.”

The new system consists of four main alerts:

• Risk Zone Alerts: Developed in relationship with state and provincial safety agencies, Drivewyze was able to curate a set of more than 2,500 high-risk safety zones, with more sites to be added each month.

• Proactive Speed Alerts: Created by mining data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System — which includes a cumulative citation history from law enforcement — these alerts warn drivers when they speeding in known high-citation areas to slow down and avert a possible speeding ticket.

• Custom Zones: Easily configured in the Drivewyze HUB portal, fleet managers can identify and create geofences for their own high-risk areas or other areas of importance to deliver custom in-cab messaging, including known areas with high-crash rates, violations, or security-related risks within the fleet, according to Heath.

• Dynamic Parking Alerts: Initially available in nine states, with more expected to come on-board soon, these alerts provide in-cab messaging with the actual number of parking spots available, in real-time, so drivers can make the decision to continue on to the rest area or look for alternative parking.

All of this culminates in an accessible online portal that gives fleet and safety managers the ability to not only create the alerts and customize them, but gauge how drivers are performing though the Safety+ Insights. The information can be broken down by fleet, vehicle/driver, or risk zone.

“The Safety+ Insights gives them access to an instant and complete outlook on how their team is performing and where they might need coaching to improve their driver behaviors in these zones,” said Mohn, adding that one large fleet was able to determine that its top 100 unsafe drivers were 400% more likely to be in a road accident in the next 12 months, stressing the need to improve those drivers' performance on their routes.  

According to Heath, numerous fleets beta-tested Drivewyze Safety+ and the reaction was “extremely positive. It confirmed that this type of proactive service is needed,” he said.

“I can’t recommend Safety+ enough,” said Derek Ohata, C.R. England’s senior director of compliance. “Not only does it allow me to take control of in-cab safety messaging, it gives me access to fleet-wide and driver-specific safety insights and proactive driver-coaching tools.”

Drivewyze Safety+ is available through Drivewyze ELD partners, or on tablets and smartphones, and is available as a standalone service or as part of a bundle with Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass service. Information from Drivewyze Safety+ can be integrated into existing safety programs via a full set of reporting APIs.