Ministry takes the ‘green’ road to fleet safety

Now, the MoD is nearing the conclusion of a six-month project, which started in March, that has seen the installation of GreenRoad Technologies’ Safety Center in a wide crosssection of vehicles.

A total of 200 vehicles located at 12 MoD establishments, which are home to the three services, and ranging from superminis to 4x4s and commercial vehicles to minibuses as well as battlefield ambulances and other operational vehicles such as Wolf Land Rovers have been equipped with the GreenRoad technology.

The MoD has followed mobile services phone and data provider T-Mobile (RoadSafe: spring 2007) as the latest high profile organisation to utilise the Safety Center to cut road crashes, some of which have tragic consequences for the Army, Navy, Royal Air Force and civilian employees involved.

Monitoring

The technology involves a dashboard-mounted display monitoring 120 driver actions covering speed, braking, acceleration, lane handling and turning. Green, red and yellow lights give virtually instant feedback to drivers to indicate their safety level. Meanwhile, data is sent in a continuous stream to GreenRoad’s web server. The data is then analysed to provide information about a driver’s safety performance on each journey they make.

The MoD completed an initial three-month ‘blind’ trial at the end of May and a ‘live’ trial will be completed at the August.

Results from the ‘blind’ trial have provided MoD chiefs with a benchmark performance for each of the approximate 2,000 servicemen and women and civilian personnel who drive the 200 vehicles – while some vehicles are own-driver the majority are designated multi-driver. The 200 vehicles collectively clock up an average 300,000 miles a month.

That data is now being used as the basis to monitor improvements in the ‘live’ trial with GreenRoad anticipating that MoD accident levels could be cut by an average of 54% with crash costs slashed by an average of 65% – in line with the results of other fleets that are using the technology. In addition, GreenRoad estimates that fuel savings of around 7% could accrue as a consequence of drivers adopting a smoother style when behind the wheel.

The MoD itself has estimated that a 50p a day saving in fuel bills could be made on each vehicle, which, across the 200-strong fleet involved in the trial adds up to cost savings running into thousands of pounds.

Approximately 190,000 people are employed full-time in the services plus another 98,000 civilians. The MoD’s fleet is effectively divided into two sections – the 16,000+-strong noncombat white fleet of which more than half are cars with the remainder being specialist and commercial vehicles and the combat green fleet, which numbers approximately 80,000 vehicles.

Overseeing

Major Rick Shepherd, who is overseeing the programme as the MoD’s road safety officer, said: “As part of our commitment to duty of care, we have an obligation for the safety of all MoD personnel - whether they are drivers or passengers. We have partnered with GreenRoad because it has innovative technology that where required can potentially modify driver behaviour.

“The MoD regularly reviews how best to reduce road traffic casualties whether the incident occurs on a base, on the road or when a vehicle is returning to base from operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, for example.

“Better driver training, safer vehicles and technology are all possible, but we spotted GreenRoad Technologies exhibiting at a fleet industry event and thought that their system, which is aimed at modifying driver behaviour, could assist us with our road casualty reduction programmes.”

Only when the ‘live’ trial commenced were all drivers thoroughly briefed on the reasons for the 200 vehicles being equipped with the Safety Center technology.

Transport managers at each of the 12 sites were also briefed about the trial and identified the benefits right from the start, stickers were placed in all vehicles to remind drivers that they were being monitored and the dashboard lights were switched on giving drivers instant feedback on their behaviour. In addition, when personnel return vehicle keys to their base transport office they are provided with a computer printout showing their manoeuvres - good or bad - as measured by the Safety Center.

Major Shepherd said: “We have been visiting each of the 12 sites every month to discuss with transport managers and the drivers issues that have been highlighted by the computerised reports compiled following each journey.

“I believe that with drivers knowing that their behaviour on the road is being monitored, their risk profile will improve and that will automatically have an impact on the number of collisions involving MoD vehicles.

“Some of the drivers understandably will be sceptical, but the transport managers were all very supportive because they want to improve driver safety.”

At the end of the ‘live’ trial the MoD will compare data with the benchmark information from the ‘blind’ test.

“We want to keep our workforce as safe as possible; therefore we may wish to encourage some major behavioural changes in the driving of some of our employees,” said Major Shepherd. “If the results prove the case for the technology then we possibly may be in a position to equip more vehicles.

“Evidence from existing GreenRoad Technologies’ clients suggest that the technology more than pays for itself in collision reduction and MPG improvements. I don’t see why the MoD fleet should be any different. With budgets under pressure it means that not only will our staff be safer, but taxpayers will be getting a better deal.”

Future

Safety Center reports will additionally help the MoD decide on future safe driving interventions targeted at staff on an individual basis. They could range from one-to-one driver training - the MoD has its own team of driving instructors located at many bases – to online risk assessments for employees, attendance at safe driving workshops and the publication of safety-focussed newsletters.

“There will be many interventions we can introduce because the amount of detail the Safety Centre will provide on each driver is substantial,” said Major Shepherd. “I am confident that where required we will change behaviour because everyone wants to be seen as a good driver.”

Aidan Rowsome, vice-president of GreenRoad Technologies, said: “The MoD understands the challenges in modifying driver behaviour to reduce accident rates. It is one of the pioneering organisations that is taking the steps to use technology to its full capabilities.”

How unsafe can you be?

In a desperate attempt to see what it would take to register a red light signalling an ‘unsafe manoeuvre’ I tried to drive as aggressively as road conditions would allow on a mixture of dual carriageways, A roads and B roads.

I managed to chalk up 14 manoeuvres that were deemed ‘unsafe’ by the all-knowing in-vehicle sensor. They included late braking, braking into a turn, lane changing and when I completed a controlled emergency stop the computer printout recorded ‘collision suspect’. Having passed my IAM advanced driving test some three years ago and with a claim-free driving record over more than 30 years, I was interested to see just how unsafe behind the wheel I had to be to register a red light.

To put it bluntly a driver, in my view, has to be scarily aggressive to register an ‘unsafe manoeuvre’. Driving ‘normally’ a green light continued to shine brightly acknowledging that I was safe behind the wheel.

Therefore, when GreenRoad Technologies reveal that a typical company car driving sales rep or manager initially averages in excess of 100 ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ per 10 hours of driving I’m glad I’m not a passenger in their car. A commercial vehicle driver will typically average 50-60 ‘unsafe manoeuvres’.

The driver in a blind trial who managed to register 506 ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ per 10 hours of driving should, quite frankly, be removed from the road. It means they were committing such ‘errors’ every two-three seconds and, more than likely, putting lives at risk.

However, as GreenRoad Technologies points out company car drivers that have up to 200 ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ during their blind trial are now registering just two-five ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ per 10 hours of driving - under 20 such manoeuvres is the standard aimed for, according to the company, with 20-50 deemed ‘moderately dangerous’.

The whole point about the three-light invehicle technology is that it provides instant visual skill – or lack of – feedback to the driver everytime they get behind the wheel. Ten minutes after completing my journey I logged onto the GreenRoad Technologies’ website to view the diagnosis of my journey.

In the real world I would also receive an email either congratulating me on my drive or suggesting that I took action to curtail my aggressive tendencies. A similar message would be sent to my boss thereby providing information that may result in me undergoing driver training to reduce my risk exposure.

It is little surprise that GreenRoad Technologies and companies such as T-Mobile that use the system say that drivers instinctively curtail their aggressive streak when they initially see how many red lights they chalk up as they all want to be viewed as a safe and good driver.

Ultimately, though driving aggressively is not a skill issue it is a behaviour issue. By utilising raw data and providing the driver with an instant diagnosis it is hoped that an individual will moderate their behaviour and move from the ‘red’ zone into the ‘green’ zone. As my brief experimental drive highlighted, the reality is that given how aggressive you must be behind the wheel to notch a ‘red’ drive the behaviour of many drivers, it seems, is shockingly bad.

Ashley Martin

Fuel bills under the microscope

Poor MPG is a by-product of aggressive driving and its hallmarks of harsh braking and rapid acceleration. However, improved hazard perception and a greater awareness of what is happening ahead due to greater anticipation aids fuel economy.

GreenRoad Technologies claims that its technology will improve vehicle fuel consumption by 7-10% as drivers move from recording a ‘red’ drive to a ‘green’ drive – a clear measurable benefit to fleets as they look to cut operating costs.

The launch of GreenRoad Technologies’ Safety Center in the UK was built around its ability to reduce risk exposure with fuel economy improvements a secondary benefit.

However, as Andy Cozens, the company’s senior sales consultant, said: “The price of fuel has bought the economic benefits of the technology to the fore. There is a direct correlation between improved driving and improved MPG. You don’t need to focus on one or the other. Fuel economy savings are also immediately apparent as it can take 12 months or more so see improvements in an individual’s accident rating.”

Mr Cozens said: “We find that the fuel savings alone make the cost of introducing the Safety Center neutral and the benefits of having fewer crashes add profit to the bottom line of companies.”

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