A new driver safety system (DSS) that sounds an alarm and vibrates the driver’s seat should the truck operator fall asleep while at the wheel, is being trialled by a Taranaki transport firm.
In partnership with American technology supplier Seeing Machines, Fleetsafe NZ has brought the DSS to the New Zealand market.
According to The New Zealand Herald, the fatigue monitoring system has sensor equipment mounted on the dashboard that observes the driver’s face, tracks head alignment for potential distraction and analyses eye behaviour to detect micro sleeping.
When the device detects abnormal activity, alarms activate in the cabin, the driver’s seat vibrates violently, and an alert is sent to Seeing Machine’s 24-hour office in Arizona which then alerts the companies dispatch office, who can then contact the driver involved.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Taranaki-based Symons Transport is one of the three New Zealand companies testing the system.
Symons Transport is using the device in five trucks and is reaching the end of a 60-day trial period.
Transport manager Murray Symons told The New Zealand Herald that he was impressed with the results.
“It allows our guys to check up on them and make sure everyone’s feeling alright and suggest pulling over, having a break and freshening up or even putting them in a hotel for a night and sending another driver,” says Symons.
“Its more about prevention than reaction,” he says.
Symons says some drivers were initially sceptical of the technology but once they realised they weren’t continuously watched, they’ve all got on board.
He hopes to roll out the technology across his 50-truck fleet early in 2016 at the cost of $150 per truck per month.
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