Automotive Fleet, July 2018

Technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives and fleet management is not immune Todays advanced safety measures like front automatic braking and lane keep assist remind you of a spacecraft more so than everyday vehicles Only this past month have backup cameras become mandatory for every automobile built in the U S but they have been around for more than a decade Once reserved for the upper echelon of high tech luxury vehicles this technology has become pervasive throughout all classes of vehicles and now accident rates and insurance claims are down because of it However great these systems are alone there are significantly more benefits when multiple safety features are combined Along with backup cameras we now have other features edging toward complete vehicle autonomy including blind spot alerts automatic parking assist which includes front rear and side sensors to help drivers park by automatically steering the vehicle while the driver follows prompted commands and controls braking acceleration steerable intelligent headlights which can turn the headlights with the car as the steering wheel moves and intelligently adjust brightness to traffic conditions and rear automatic braking which automatically brakes when an object is within a certain distance while the driver is backing up AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I JULY 2018 60 The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency BILL GATES Our business is about technology yes But its also about operations and customer relationships MICHAEL DELL EDITORIAL BY SHERB BROWN Better Safe than Sorry According to a recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety IIHS study of a major OEMs safety features some of the largest reductions are associated with vehicles equipped with both rear vision cameras and parking alerts compared to vehicles without either system So to get the greatest bang for your buck safety wise its important to integrate multiple systems to provide drivers with a complete detailed and accurate picture of the environment While these safety features can greatly enhance the driving experience thats not to assume that these can completely substitute for safe driving behavior A leading OEMs forward alerts package has been found to reduce injury claim frequencies but not necessarily decrease PDL claim frequency According to the to the IIHS this suggests the system appears to be mitigating higher speed crashes if not always completely avoiding them consequently a crash may still occur generating a PDL claim but with a reduced chance of generating injury claims in other words the crashes are still occurring but at reduced speeds lessening the damage done and potential for injuries This safety feature has reduced the frequency of high severity accidents 7000 insurance claim by more than 10 while moderately increasing the frequency of low severity accidents less than 1500 Thus although these new features clearly save lives and dollars technology must act to support safe driving habits Clearly certain safety features help to protect drivers in addition to helping bolster the bottom line by reducing insurance claims So not only do these futuristic intelligent systems keep your employees safe but make good economic sense as well As technology progresses further it will be interesting how the increasing connectivity and the internet of things IoT impacts vehicle safety features Looking back on the past decade weve seen change at a breakneck pace with more to come Id stay ahead of the curve here and rather be safe than sorry If you disagree let me know AF sherb brown@ bobit com