Predictive Technology Increases Driver Safety, Benefits Carriers

As commercial carriers acquire more telematics capabilities it was only a matter of time before someone came along and offered a way to integrate all of that information into a way to track, coach and train drivers, even to the point of making decisions about letting a driver go.

Predictive technology increases driver safety, benefits carriers

Seems a little 'micromanagement heavy' to me.....just IMHO. What say YOU, veteran drivers?!?!? PJ ? Old School ? Grandpa ? PackRat ? etc?!?!?

Well Anne I do agree with you, however!!!

As an industry we have done it to ourselves. Drivers cutting corners and sometimes flat ignoring rules, and companies pushing drivers and looking the other way until something bad happening, not to mention mass hiring and taking folks in some cases that do not belong behind the wheel.

Personally I am going through a little bit along this line. My company has purchased and are installing Lytx camera systems. If they pay for it, I’m ok with it because I play by the rules. However it is their choice, and if they are going to pass any costs onto me then we will be having a proffessional discussion. They charge me for proplenet and I pay it without arguement. Why?? Because it is mandated by FMCSA. Camera’s are not mandated. My record is clean and I am not a problem child. I run my own dash cam and have for several years.

Just my opinion.

I see how this type of system can influence decreases in insurance costs and worker’s comp premiums, but the author is making very large, vague assumptions regarding driver turnover and an increase in productivity. He neglects to provide proof, facts, research, or any type of data to support those two claims. I would expect driver turnover and thus a company’s productivity to decline, not increase, after installing these systems. It’s not as if having systems like this implemented is going to draw out a better or even very different type of driver; the ones caught up in the metrics of this technology will simply migrate to the companies or opportunities where it is not employed. Seems to me someone is pushing technology and dropping buzzwords in an effort to create a market and profit from it.

They want robots to drive the trucks but cant figure out how to do it. The next best thing. Cyborgs. If they came out with a chip to put in our heads it would be mandatory in the name of lower insurance rates and safety.

I pretty much agree with ALL of you responders. PJ .... isn't Lytx quite invasive, in and of itself? A seasoned pro like you...and they want you to PAY for it, perhaps? Sheesh.

Heck, I don't know what I don't know. Being in my 50's and coming into this industry (if I 'ever' do, anyway....) with 'techno' like that, would be a total turn off, anyway.

Maybe it should have 'age limiters' on the thing?!? A computer that can 'hire' and/or 'fire' you ?!?!? No offense, DaveW. but.. I'm not liking this, nor would many coming into this industry, especially of the mature nature~!

Just, IMHO..

Anne ~

Anne all I know about is a short video presentation I watched, then of course all the rumors. As you would expect many of the rumors do not match the video, go figure.

I am not worrying about it. It is what it is. I have found out they are installing like crazy on company trucks and the policy has not been formalized as of last friday. They are turning the interior camera off by policy and we can cover the lens if we choose. However I asked about cost and they have yet to get back to me. They are still working out some details I think regarding affilate’s, fleet owners, and o/o’s.

QC has a weird business model over here, unlike any other I have seen in the industry. But it works.

I though the three Precogs, Agatha, Arthur, and Dash were allowed to leave and the Minority Report program was shut down now they bring it back for this??? SMH...

As an O/O, PJ has a valid question in wondering who will pay for it in his case.

Beyond that, this and similar technology is simply a fact of life, and it isn't going to go away. The days of skating by are quickly disappearing.

There's no such thing as micromanaging when you're the one footing the bill of accidents that lead to losses in the millions of dollars. We don't have to like it, but we do have to accept it.

These WM trucks are loaded with safety systems -Lytx, Detroit Assurance, Collision mitigation system, etc. I for one have come to accept these systems as simply another facet of the business. There's no doubt that certain safety features have made me a better, safer driver. The predictive technology mentioned in the article is par for the course. Adapt or be left behind.

Sitting through a 9 hour annual safety meeting yesterday, I heard many of the OG spew an endless stream of complaints regarding these systems. The younger drivers can't remember a world without this technology, and don't understand what the fuss is about. At 50, I'm somewhere in the middle, but I'll drive whatever they give me.

Your not even kidding. That's the truth.

I though the three Precogs, Agatha, Arthur, and Dash were allowed to leave and the Minority Report program was shut down now they bring it back for this??? SMH...