Use of Low Cost Driving Behavior Management System (DBMS) reduces recorded safety events by 38 to 52 percent.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sponsored evaluation of driving behavior in two commerical carriers

Date Posted
06/24/2011
Identifier
2011-B00698
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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.

Goal Areas
Deployment Locations