Vehicle Tracking Technology used by Missouri DOT for Maintenance Operations Yielded an 85 Percent Increase in Seat Belt Use and a 70 Percent Reduction in Speeding in the First Year of Deployment
Missouri DOT Developed a Safety Dashboard Report to Encourage Safe Driving Behaviors Among Vehicle Operators Across All Districts
Statewide, Missouri, United States
Expanded Use of AVL/GPS Technology: Final Report
Summary Information
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) implemented an automatic vehicle location (AVL)/GPS system on their agency's fleet of winter and non-winter maintenance vehicles. The system began as a pilot project in 2015 in three districts (Southwest, Central, and St. Louis) to test the AVL/GPS system for engine diagnostics features. While the system was initially installed for its engine diagnostics capabilities, improvement in driving safety became a major motivator for statewide implementation. By early 2022, MoDOT had installed the AVL/GPS system on 92 percent of their 1,500 heavy-duty vehicles. Additionally, 46 percent and 45 percent of the medium-duty and light-duty (passenger) vehicles, respectively, were equipped with the AVL/GPS system.
METHODOLOGY
MoDOT's AVL/GPS system collects comprehensive safety data from vehicles through hardware installed in their maintenance fleet. The system automatically monitors and records specific driving behaviors including speeding incidents, harsh braking events, unsafe backing maneuvers, seat belt compliance, and other safety-related metrics. When safety violations occur, such as drivers failing to use seat belts, vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 6 MPH or more for at least 3 minutes, or vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 15 MPH or more for at least 1 minute, the system generates daily alerts.
Using this collected data, MoDOT collaborated with the system vendor to create a Safety Dashboard that promotes safer driving practices across all districts. This dashboard calculates a comprehensive safety score for each district based on the tracked behaviors. The system allows supervisors to generate these safety reports at various time intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually), enabling them to identify and analyze safety trends over time. When safety violations are detected, supervisors receive automated notifications, allowing them to have timely coaching conversations with vehicle operators about the importance of seat belt usage and speed limit compliance.
FINDINGS
- As a result of deploying the AVL/GPS system and its associated Safety Dashboard, MoDOT staff have seen an 85 percent increase in seat belt usage and a 70 percent decrease in speeding events over the first year of usage on a statewide basis.
- The safety dashboard has also helped reduce vehicle maintenance costs by reducing wear and tear on fleet vehicles over time. While MoDOT has had a mileage milestone for determining when to replace a vehicle, they may be able to increase this milestone mileage amount based on the reduced amount of maintenance in future years.
- The proactive nature of the program is intended to prevent accidents and injuries before they occur, which benefits both MoDOT employees and the public.
- The system has also been used to exonerate some drivers from citizen complaints about property damage and has been used to recover vehicles stolen from the fleet.
