Distracted Driving Awareness Month: What Is Your Fleet Doing to Stay Alert?

April is a special month that serves as an important reminder-Distracted Driving Awareness Month. As fleet managers, safety directors, and fleet operations managers, we play a key role in protecting the lives of drivers and others sharing the roads with them by raising awareness about distracted driving preventative measures within our organizations.This year's Distracted Driving Awareness Month presents us with an opportunity to further inform ourselves and our teams on how to minimize distractions during operation, remaining proactive about instilling value for all at-risk groups involved through immersive education campaigns.Here's some tips on what to do to practice safe driving.[no_toc]

Distracted Driving Tips; The Do's

1. Put your cell phone on driving mode or pull over and stop to safely use it
2. Be prepared: plan your route, set your GPS, select your music, and get drinks or snacks ready ahead of time. For navigation, use a dash mounted phone holder that is positioned well.
3. Actively monitor your speed and make sure you are aware of speed limits
4. Tired? Avoid driving or pull over to rest
5. Pay attention to other drivers; drive defensively
6. Maintain your vehicle to ensure its best performance

What Technology Is Available to Help You Keep Your Drivers Safe?

Fleet managers turn to smart solutions that provide an organized platform to assess driving behavior. Some fleets use cell-blocking technologies like LifeSaver Mobile to enforce the hands-free use of cell phones while driving.By implementing a video-based safety solution like Driver�i, distracted driving can be significantly reduced while positive behaviors on the road take precedence. Features like real-time alerts, allows managers to quickly identify and take corrective action with drivers who display risky behaviors as well as recognize exemplary performance without any penalties. For example, TITAN Freight Systems saw a 96 percent reduction in distracted driving alerts using the Driver�i system. The system has enabled a fast-track approach for bad habit changes amongst their staff while promoting safe driving habits.

With its ability to gather data from both inside and outside of vehicles, it serves as an effective tool in analyzing driver actions and providing feedback with real time alerts for instant adjustment. Immediate in-cab alerts include distracted activity (holding a phone, looking down, eating, drinking and smoking) as well as drowsy signals (eyes closing, yawning). Fleets using the inward cameras can set the level of severity based on their priority for each alert. Furthermore, automated coaching provided by Netradyne makes incentivizing or correcting behavior easier.

Final Thoughts

Remembering and providing the right tips and strategies is essential to keeping all drivers safe and on alert behind the wheel. The most sophisticated technology available to protect your drivers includes an AI-powered dash cam that provides comprehensive data analytics and real-time driver feedback.The technology, like with anything else, is only effective when harnessed correctly and if used in combination with diligent practices to prevent distracted driving, it can become even more powerful.Learn more about how Netradyne's fleet safety technology can help ensure your driver's safety.