United States
Evaluating the Safety Benefits of a Low-Cost Driving Behavior Management System in Commercial Vehicle Operations
Summary Information
The project provided an independent evaluation of a commercially available low-cost Driving Behavior Management System (DBMS). Participating drivers from two motor carriers (identified as Carrier A and Carrier B) drove an instrumented vehicle for 17 consecutive weeks while they made their normal, revenue-producing deliveries. During the four week baseline phase, the DBMS recorded safety-related events; however, the feedback light on the event recorder was disabled and safety managers did not have access to the recorded safety-related events to provide feedback to drivers. During the 13-week intervention phase, the feedback light on the event recorder was activated and safety managers had access to the recorded safety-related events and were recommended to follow a coaching protocol with drivers. The results suggest the combination of onboard safety monitoring and behavioral coaching were responsible for a reduction in the mean rate of safety-related events.
Findings
Carrier A significantly reduced the mean rate of recorded safety-related events per 10,000 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from baseline to intervention by 38.1 percent, while Carrier B significantly reduced the mean rate of recorded safety events per 10,000 VMT from baseline to intervention by 52.2 percent.
For severe safety-related events, a 59.1 percent reduction in mean rate of severe safety-related events per VMT was observed at Carrier A and a 44.4 percent reduction was observed at Carrier B. These results were not statistically significant due to the small number of severe events, but the percentage reduction in severe safety-related events at Carrier A and B have practical significance.
