Fleet safety and regulatory compliance for the road ahead

Five ways IoT improves driver safety and simplifies ELD compliance

When it comes to safety, fleet companies focus on four key areas: the driver, the vehicle, the cargo and everyone else on the road.

Interest in transportation safety has been heightened as of late, as Canadians rely on the delivery of essential goods and services now more than ever.

In order to get goods to where they need to be, fleets are on the road day and night, crossing federal and provincial borders—and so are their drivers. This increase in transportation vehicles on the road and driver hours means that fleet companies must take extra measures to ensure safety and legal compliance. For many, this is a good time to integrate IoT technology to automate manual processes and gain greater visibility and control over their fleets.

One IoT solution that addresses both safety and compliance concerns is the onboard Electronic Logging Device (ELD). As of January 1, 2023, officially certified* devices were required to replace paper logs. Here are five ways that IoT is helping fleet companies improve safety, simplify compliance and control costs.

1. Hours of service tracking with ELDs

Connected technologies such as ELDs enable companies operating fleets to automatically track a driver’s hours of service (HoS), ensuring that a driver remains compliant and is not on the road longer than they should be. This is particularly important as regulations can differ by country, province and state.

2. Driver performance monitoring

Understanding how drivers react to conditions on the road can prevent or mitigate accidents before they happen. Driver behaviour monitoring systems enable companies to automatically capture data about driver performance and trigger alerts about driver behaviour such as speeding, rapid acceleration, abrupt braking, sharp cornering and seatbelt use.

In-cabin interactive alerts as well as video-based event recording and coaching give businesses the tools to help modify behaviour and improve the way drivers operate their vehicles.

These measures are particularly important when drivers are logging extra hours. Receiving audible feedback while driving can help keep driver performance sharp by bringing their focus back to the road. Driver behaviour data can also help dispatchers and operations managers make informed decisions to pull a driver from the road, or to swap out operators to ensure safe operations.

When combined with ELDs, vehicle tracking and driver behaviour monitoring systems can curtail liabilities for fleet companies, as the technology can help pinpoint the cause of an accident which could result in lower insurance premiums.

3. Diagnostics and maintenance

Having the right information at your fingertips can help fleet managers make informed decisions and cut down on or even avoid potential safety issues.  

ELDs delivers some key analytics for fleet health and safety, such as vehicles that are needlessly idling, ultimately lowering costs for the company and wear on the vehicle.  

Vehicle diagnostics solutions also help companies proactively diagnose and maintain their fleet vehicles. While most fleet operators will continue to do a visual vehicle check prior to beginning a trip, connected devices automate many of these checks, saving the driver time and reducing the potential for human error.

Real-time vehicle health monitoring and data analytics, combined with driver performance analytics, can predict breakdowns and prompt repair alerts using a combination of data points, fault codes, historical maintenance and vehicle use patterns. It can also provide detailed information around the labour, tools and equipment needed to address issues and conduct repairs to keep drivers and vehicles safe while on the road.

4. Road and weather condition monitoring

Over 40% of accidents in Canada are caused by poor weather conditions. IoT sensors coupled with predictive analytics have become invaluable in helping fleet operators mitigate the risks brought on by poor driving conditions.  

IoT technology can track road surface and weather conditions, identifying precise, location-specific issues that might cause delays or threaten safety.

This information can help dispatch alerts, recommend alternate routes, revise estimated arrival times and keep customers informed about their delivery.

5. Location tracking and route management

GPS tracking and IoT technology provide up-to-the-minute information about vehicle location at every point along its route. It can provide the estimated time of arrival and proof of delivery with time and location stamps, which alert companies to whether drivers are running late, early, on time, or idle.

IoT vehicle tracking can aid in quick repair or recovery in the event of a breakdown or emergency. This can often result in a two-pronged effort––attending to the vehicle and driver, while also reallocating the cargo to another vehicle in order to keep the supply chain moving.

Keeping drivers, vehicles, cargo and roads safe is an important responsibility for fleet owners. Fleet management solutions and IoT-enabled ELDs are leading the way to safer roads now and in the future.

For more information on how to use IoT to keep your fleet safe, contact a Rogers representative

_{* A third-party certification body with the ISO/IEC 17065 standard required by Transport Canada to test and certify ELD}