Mesilla Valley Transportation has selected SmartDrive’s video-based safety product for its fleet of more than 1,300 tractors, the carrier announced.

The company said it tested several competing video safety devices before deciding on SmartDrive. It uses video, audio and operating data to identify unsafe driving behavior and assess risk.

"Following our competitive pilot of multiple video safety solutions, we selected SmartDrive because it clearly offered the best value for our investment, based on its demonstrated ability to improve safety, proven innovation in video-based analytics, access to video within minutes and outstanding customer support," stated Royal Jones, president, Mesilla Valley Transportation.

Dean Rigg, Mesilla Valley's chief financial officer, and his team selected SmartDrive based on key capabilities they found to be unique to the platform, including its ability to capture U-turns, aggressive swerves and other risky driving maneuvers.

During the 2½-month pilot, Mesilla Valley experienced the impact of the SmartDrive system when it captured a collision involving one of its drivers on video. They were able to quickly assess that the situation was the driver’s fault, avoiding what otherwise could've been a lengthy and costly claims process.

SmartDrive also identified 58 U-turns on public roadways – a maneuver that is prohibited for Mesilla Valley drivers. Without the system Mesilla mnagers say they couldn’t effectively monitor driver compliance, but with SmartDrive they were able to identify offending drivers, then provide coaching and reduce future risk.

“With the program, we know what the driver did correctly, where improvement is needed, and what contributing factors — positive or negative — may have played a role," said Jones. "With video of on-road events, we can avoid a lengthy legal fight and a protracted insurance claims process based on incorrect or incomplete information.”

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