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Technology

New Headlight Tech Will Avoid Blinding Drivers, Improve Road Safety

March 1, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Highway safety regulators are now moving forward with permitting a new kind of headlight in an effort to avoid the temporary blindness drivers can face when passing a vehicle with strong, high-beam headlights.

These high-tech lights can tailor beams automatically to focus only on dark areas without creating glare that can hurt the eyes of those in oncoming traffic. The final rule has just been published in the Federal Register after being issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which noted that it’s time to permit these “adaptive driving beam headlights.”

“The final rule will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by making them more visible at night, and will help prevent crashes by better illuminating animals and objects in and along the road,” said NHTSA when it announced the rule.

The headlights utilize LED lamps to be able to specifically focus beams on dark regions of the road, especially within the driver’s lane and along the shoulder and roadside. When traffic is oncoming, the lights’ sensors can automatically diminish light beam intensity and focus the lights in specific areas.

“You have the ability to basically create a light pattern on the fly that is optimized for real-time conditions,” said principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Research, Sam Abuelsamid. “You can cast the light where it’s most useful.”

Abuelsamid explained that the lighting technology uses light-emitting diodes that control in what direction and how strongly the light beams are positioned, and these diodes work much differently than commonly-used lamps that emit high beams all over. Although these new lights are already heavily utilized in Europe, they will take time to spread to mainstream vehicles in the U.S. and will likely be high-cost at first, Abuelsamid added.

Additionally, in vehicles with partially automated driver assist systems, the lighting tech will help this software allow cars to more easily avoid upcoming obstacles, objects in the road, and veering out of the driver’s lane.

Bringing about this new final rule regarding headlights follows a year and a half behind Congress’ bipartisan infrastructure law requirement, and NHTSA noted that its safety measures typically move slowly once Congressional mandates finally come to fruition. Currently, more than a dozen auto safety rules with Congress-passed deadlines are years overdue, as has been the case under the last three presidents presiding over NHTSA’s rule-making actions.

Since 2017, NHTSA has been awaiting an administrator confirmed by the senate, although President Biden has recently nominated Steven Cliff for the role. Cliff is a former air quality regulator for the state of California, and is waiting for full Senate confirmation before beginning his duties with the agency.

The decision to push forth this new rule is likely provoked by a months-long steep increase in overall roadway fatalities throughout the country. In the first nine months of 2021, the number of traffic deaths on American roads skyrocketed, reaching a government-reported number of 31,720 during that time period. These deaths align with the rising numbers of reckless driving behavior the country saw throughout the pandemic era, especially as shelter-in-place orders were issued and roadways cleared, causing many drivers to feel the need to speed excessively. 

Between January and September 2021, the estimated number of vehicle crash deaths rose by 12% from the same period in 2020. The number of deaths during this timeframe was the highest within a nine-month span since 2006, and showed the sharpest increase in a nine-month period since 1975–when the Transportation Department first began keeping records of fatal crash data.

“People make mistakes, but human mistakes don’t always have to be lethal,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg of these tragic numbers. “In a well-designed system, safety measures make sure that human fallibility does not lead to human fatalities.”

Many safety advocates and transportation industry members are hopeful that this new headlight technology will help many drivers see exactly what they need to while driving at night, and will allow for fewer drivers to become temporarily blinded by high beams and avoid potential crashes caused by this visual difficulty.

Truckers Receive Live Traffic Alerts Through New Software in New Jersey, North Carolina

February 23, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Through a collaboration between Intelligent Imaging Systems, its subsidiary Drivewyze Inc., and INRIX transportation and data analytics firm, New Jersey is now offering a new method of warning truck drivers about any possible safety issues along a 600-mile highway stretch across the state.

“We’ve partnered with Drivewyze and INRIX to develop a real-time traffic alert system for commercial vehicle drivers,” said the New Jersey Department of Transportation in a tweet. “This program is designed to help reduce commercial vehicle crashes on New Jersey state highways.”

According to NJDOT, a fully loaded tractor-trailer needs about 66% more time to stop at an average speed than a passenger car, and rear-end crashes involving a vehicle stopped in line behind one initial crash tend to be common in secondary interstate incidents.

“The ability to alert commercial vehicle drivers to unexpected traffic conditions will improve safety for everyone driving on New Jersey’s highways,” said commissioner of NJDOT, Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “By warning drivers of congestion that is miles ahead, drivers of large commercial vehicles will have the extra time needed to safely slow down.”

Truck drivers will be able to receive alerts two to three miles ahead of an accident or slow down in traffic through Drivewyze’s app or in-cab alert technology.  This kind of warning system will help truckers more easily avoid secondary crashes by giving them enough time to prepare to stop.

These drivers will be sent necessary notifications as they operate vehicles throughout New Jersey, including in areas such as the New Jersey Turnpike, the Atlantic City Expressway, Garden State Parkway, and other various highways. The notifications will include warnings for runaway ramps and mountain corridor steep grades, upcoming slow downs–especially when dangerous curves are involved, and signals when approaching a low bridge.

IIHS noted that both North Carolina and New Jersey’s Departments of Transportation utilized participation in the Eastern Transportation Coalition’s Traffic Data Marketplace to be able to implement Drivewyze’s systems into their state’s commercial motor vehicles.

“The New Jersey Motor Truck Association applauds the efforts to provide advance safety alerts to commercial truck drivers via Drivewyze,” said Gail Toth, executive director. “These efforts will help to keep our workplace–the highways–safer for all.”

The alert software has been successful, according to NCDOT’s public relations officer, Andrew Barksdale, who noted that more than 42,000 sudden slow down and congestion notifications have been sent to North Carolina Drivewyze users over the last four months. The states’ DOT is working to analyze the system’s overall safety benefits, as well.

Additionally, over the last few months, Drivewyze underwent a beta test by IIS to monitor safety alerts sent to the system’s users. In New Jersey, 104,000 alerts were released for 14,000 incidents, and 38,000 alerts were released in North Carolina for 7,000 incidents.

“Incidents in this case are either based on congestion (sustained traffic on a road segment for at least three minutes) or sudden slowdowns (temporary queue backups),” said Drivewyze spiderman, Doug Siefkes. “The queue backups could be for any reason: accidents, lane closures in work zones, [or] weather conditions.”

These alerts have an ability to bring significant safety boosts to North Carolina, New Jersey, and any other state which utilizes the software, said director of global communications for INRIX, Mark Burfeind. 

Additionally, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crash-detection study used live traffic data from INRIX and Waze to crowdsource data from Waze’s connected users; the study found early on that this data outperformed data collected by Traffic Management Center employees, finding 86.7% of all reportable crashes in the state’s roadway network.

The study also found that work-zone and secondary crashes in heavy traffic congestion typically brought about more motorist injuries than other reportable crashes, and 46% of secondary crashes took place at least an hour after the initial crash.

The report explained: “The location of these crashes was of particular interest, with 32% of work-zone crashes and 49% of secondary crashes occurring more than two miles back from the origin point of congestion.”

Tesla’s Autopilot at Center of Fatal Crash, What Does This Mean for Driver Assist Tech?

February 22, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

We recently reported on two influential groups changing the way vehicles are rated by focusing on the safety of those with partially automated driver-assist systems. Now, these scores will incorporate these updates for all new vehicle models, starting in 2022, that utilize such technology. These changes come as prosecutors in California file two counts of vehicular manslaughter against a driver who ran a red light and killed two people while operating a Tesla on Autopilot in 2019.

The charges, which were initially filed in October, seem to be the first involving a felony against a driver using any partially automated driving technology in the United States. The 27-year-old driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, pleaded not guilty.

Tesla’s autopilot system helps control speed, braking, and steering, and its misuse has been the underlying cause of various crashes and investigations. Although other criminal charges regarding automated driving systems have taken place, this case marks the first charge involving a commonly-used driver assist system.

In the U.S., there are currently 765,000 Tesla vehicles with the Autopilot system implemented onboard–a stark contrast from the tech involved in the charge of negligent homicide in 2020 involving an Uber driver who had been helping to test fully autonomous vehicles on public roads. 

The recent Tesla crash involves much more widely-used technology, which is a major concern for transportation safety advocates. In the incident, a Tesla Model S was driving quickly when it exited a freeway, ran a red light in Los Angeles, and hit a Honda Civic at an intersection in Gardena. The driver and passenger in the Civic died immediately, while Riad and his passenger were hospitalized due to their injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had sent investigators to the crash, and in January 2022, confirmed the use of Tesla’s Autopilot system as being utilized at the time of the incident. Riad’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. 

Drivers’ overconfidence in driver assist systems has been at the center of many crashes–including deadly ones. Because of this, the National Transportation Safety Board, along with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, have been reviewing Autopilot’s misuse and consider it to be “automation complacency.”

“I think we are a lot further away from self-driving cars than tech companies and commercials would like us to believe,” said Levinson and Stefani’s Jay Stefani. “That said, there is a lot of great safety technology out there to assist drivers. Lane drift alarms, blind spot detectors, active forward collision avoidance systems, and back-up cameras and alarms are all examples of technology that has saved lives.”

According to Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, studies have shown drivers often rely too heavily on their automated systems and pay little attention to alerts. Advertising for vehicles with these programs on board typically overexaggerate the systems’ abilities, as well.

Tesla’s autopilot system was launched in 2015, and in 2018, a Tesla driver died in a collision with a freeway barrier in Mountain View, California. According to the NTSB, the driver was allowing the system to operate while he or she played a mobile game.

“Keeping drivers focused on the road and the vehicle is critical for the safe use of partially automated driving systems,” said the president of IIHS, David Harkey. 

Drivers often equate partially automated systems with self-driving vehicles, although no self-driving vehicles are available to consumers. When a driver ignores the monitor systems of a vehicle, their driving may be more dangerous than if they had been operating a vehicle without a partially automated system, Harkey noted.

“There are studies that go back probably 80 years that show humans are pretty bad about just watching automation happen,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “It’s just too easy to get bored and let your attention wander.”

Tesla has responded to these issues by working to update its automated driving software to be able to more easily deter misuse, as well as to improve its Autopilot’s capacity to detect emergency vehicles.

Illinois Cracks Down on Biometric Privacy Law Compliance, Worrying Carriers

February 14, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking carriers and those who provide them with technology may end up in the midst of various federal and state class-action lawsuits regarding Illinois biometric privacy law compliance, legal experts are saying.

Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, implemented in 2008, has been brought up in various recent cases–the law states that any business utilizing the collection, usage, and retention of biometric identifying data like iris scans, fingerprints, voice prints, facial geometry scans, or full hand scans must first inform employees of this intent and receive consent to do so. Additionally, the company must ensure and make clear that all records kept are entirely secure.

Overall liability in regards to this law is likely increasing quickly, and Illinois state trucking companies may be subject to more class action lawsuits in the coming months as a result, stated Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary in a recent public notice. These potential increases come after a December Illinois appellate court opinion expressed interest in boosting this liability.

Various Illinois Legislature members worked last year to try and relax some of the law’s severity, without much luck.

“Biometrics are unlike other unique identifiers that are used to access finances or other sensitive information,” said a bill summary released in the Illinois Legislature in 2021. “For example, social security numbers, when compromised, can be changed. Biometrics, however, are biologically unique to the individual, therefore, once compromised, the individual has no recourse, is at heightened risk for identity theft, and is likely to withdraw from biometric-facilitated transactions.”

Any violation of the law can allow an “aggrieved” individual to obtain liquidated damages totaling $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for any reckless violation. For a trucking company that has been scanning employees in various manners for a number of years, these damages can add up significantly.

“This is a really big issue right now in Illinois–not just for trucking, but across industries,” said firm partner Chip Andrewscavage. “BIPA has been dormant for a long time, but in the past few years, there have been literally hundreds–if not thousands–of cases filed. The risk is very high to go to trial, so we’ve been seeing a lot of class cases settled outside [of] court.”

Some trucking companies are beginning to panic, many state industry experts say.

“I am hearing from my members about this,” said Illinois Trucking Association executive director, Matt Hart. “I even had one member who reached out to me who literally told me this lawsuit will result in his filing for bankruptcy and moving his company out of Illinois.”

Hart also noted that the Illinois Chamber of Commerce has been working with trucking companies to avoid such large lawsuits, and he has been trying to help.

“While the intentions of the law were to protect privacy, trucking companies are becoming aware of it, but are attempting to adapt to it a little too late,” said Hart. “Now, they’re facing lawsuits because they did not gain consent from their employees.”

Trucking companies should begin working alongside their individual technology suppliers in regards to compliance of this law, although they should have already been doing so to begin with, noted Trucksafe Consulting president, Brandon Wiseman. Trucksafe Consulting, based in Greenfield, Indiana, is a truck regulatory compliance firm.

“Work with your vendor, and see what your vendor is doing about this,” Wiseman said, adding that the carrier and tech vendor should both have data stored properly within their own systems. “I think it’s certainly possible for motor carriers to get pulled into the litigation.”

Some carriers are frustrated, saying that they should not be punished if they had no knowledge of the legislation in place.

“I get the intent of the law,” said a Midwestern carrier’s president who wished to remain anonymous. “But we didn’t do anything wrong. We just didn’t know the law existed.”

Still, many Illinois carriers have been using handprint and fingerprint scanners or inward-facing cameras for a number of years now, and should be doing so as responsibly as possible, Wiseman added.

“The law does not prohibit carriers from collecting data,” he said. “It requires carriers to make it clear to their drivers what exactly [they’re] collecting, and get their consent to do so.”

How Carrier-Shipper Relationships Can Stay Stable Through Unpredictability

February 1, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“This is a very unique market and the first time in recent history where the market favors the carrier,” said director of enterprise execution for Emerge, Conner Doran. “In the past, shippers have over-projected on volume to create a buffer in order to protect themselves and their demand fluctuations. Typically, this results in the carrier not realizing 100% of the awarded volume.”

Doran’s comments come as the trucking industry faces unpredictable rate negotiations in the current market, especially as shipper and carrier relationships are easily becoming more strained than ever around logistical aspects.

“Now, we have seen the market flip in favor of the carrier side,” Doran continued. “Carriers are removing some of that capacity that was originally allocated towards that award to play in the spot market.”

Now, skyrocketing demand and rates have been an expected characteristic of the market itself since 2020, especially with surging e-commerce activity, shortages, and bottlenecks all playing a part in the strain.  Additionally, the abrupt and severe market changes at hand have led to unpredictable service capabilities, constantly-varying rates, delays, expensive spot transactions, and unsatisfied customers.

According to Doran, these major market inconsistencies are being worsened due to a lack of clarity or proper forecasting from a technological perspective, although other industry leaders expect the market to rebalance itself significantly by the middle of this year. This is probably due to the likelihood of companies beginning to finally recover from shortages brought about by the pandemic and as the transportation industry itself learns how to adequately adapt to the ever-changing habits of American consumers in a pandemic era.

Shippers are also beginning to avoid yearlong, less-than-ideal rates by aiming for quarterly or monthly bid cycles, which is likely to remain healthier for current carrier-shipper relationships as opposed to long-term rate negotiations. Still, such negotiations will continue to be strained over the next few months, with shippers not often wanting to accept the present-day, highly-inflated rates for the long term.

Senior full truckload analyst at Stanley Black & Decker noted that his company has indeed transitioned from yearly bids to monthly bids as it doesn’t see the need for yearly pricing commitments from carriers right now. During bid time, Jolles also noted that all parties should keep a close eye on all small details.

Still, carriers and shippers alike can act upon a variety of methods to keep relationships stable. According to Jolles, if both parties commit to solid service and transparency, and if carriers are sure to “ask questions, over-communicate, and meet performance requirements,” the relationship can remain strong and shippers can stay confident.

At their facilities, shippers should also make sure to prioritize improved driver experience, which should include avoiding high dwell times, allowing for shipper-of-choice behaviors, and working to improve overall operations. Wasting money and time through long dwell times can easily strain even the best of shipper and carrier relationships, noted manager of warehouse and transportation systems analytics at Hormel Foods, Tim Whitson.

Innovative technology should also be embraced by both carriers and shippers to keep relationships solid, as the new technologies making their way into the industry have been allowing for more transparent and smooth negotiations, accurate forecasting, and more reliable data aggregation so that all parties involved in a negotiation are seeing all aspects laid out thoroughly.

“Shippers talk about how they need to improve operations and dwell times at facilities,” explained Doran. “Utilizing technology such as the RFI feature and the Emerge Freight Procurement platform allows a shipper to ask these questions to their partners and consolidate all that information at the click of a mouse.”

Of course, communication is key, and this tech can boost partner communication in order to avoid mistakes and service issues that would hurt the relationship itself. If concerns and complaints can be relayed in real time, major issues can be prevented much more quickly and allow the shipping process to stay as efficient as possible.

Communication and Safety Culture Key to Retaining Safe Drivers, Industry Leaders Say

January 25, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“These are professionals, from day one, [with whom] we emphasize they are the captain of the ship and we trust them to use their judgment and experience to make the call to shut down [if needed],” said executive vice president of U.S. Truckload for TFI International, Greg Orr. “They trust us to provide them with the equipment, training, and support to be as safe as possible.”

For carriers like TFI, a solid safety reputation is vital for recruiting and retaining experienced drivers, especially as new technology continues to make its way into truck cabs across the country.

Because of this, continuous and proactive safety training efforts allow veteran drivers to continue improving their skills and habits while also allowing newer drivers to build their safe driving behaviors. Applying telematics and recording device insight and data to training processes, along with regular driver feedback and input, has made the continual training methods in place easier for many carriers, such as Estes Express Lines.

For the LTL carrier, this kind of technology brought some hesitation among drivers, but thorough communication helped put minds at ease, according to the company’s vice president of safety and risk management, Curtis Carr.

“We went on a road trip to many of our terminals and met with our drivers to explain what we were doing and why, how it would work, and how it would help them,” he explained. “We told them what we’d be measuring and the parameters for what events [the software] would track.”

Once guidance and coaching were made commonplace with such new technological advances coming to the cab, drivers began lessening their opposition to the changes.

“It’s just like a football coach,” said Carr. “These are the game tapes we are studying. If there’s something you’re doing well, keep it up. If there’s something we can improve, let’s work on it. We bring coaching opportunities to the driver’s attention in a positive, encouraging environment.”

Additionally, drivers want to know that all equipment at hand is maintained properly and is modern enough for regular use in today’s supply chain, noted Bettaway Supply Chain Services president, John Vaccaro.

“Nobody wants to break down, he said. “It’s our job to give them a truck that’s properly maintained so they can turn the key and go without any safety issues. It’s the driver’s job to do a thorough pre-trip, and if something comes up, [to] flag it so we can fix it before he goes out and point out anything when he comes back in.”

Still, drivers need to know the huge safety boosts that come with collision avoidance technology, in-cab cameras, and other innovative technological systems, Carr noted.

“What’s better than stopping a truck before an accident can occur?” he asked. “It’s been nothing but a great tool to help us defend our drivers from false claims and coach them in a positive manner [on] how to improve their skills and become even safer. I can’t understand operating a fleet those days who would not have a drive-cam.”

Most important, though, is a carrier’s overall culture of safety, explained vice president of safety and risk for Pitt Ohio, Jeff Mercadante.

“They know we put safety first,” he said. “We are ethical–we won’t have them break the rules in any way. Attitude and work ethic are everything. Our job is to provide the necessary training and provide the best equipment with the latest safety technologies so they can do their jobs safely.”

When drivers at CFI–a truckload carrier at which Orr also serves as president–were asked why they decided to drive for that particular carrier, most brought up the company’s exemplary safety record.

“Seventy percent answered that they’ve read reviews about us and how we emphasize a ‘captain of the ship’ mentality,” Orr said. “They watch videos and talk with other drivers. That’s the best endorsement we can ask for.”

Carrier leaders should also always prioritize personal connection with drivers and be willing to hear their worries and opinions on any given safety matter, Orr added.

“That’s really the key–staying connected with that driver, resolving issues, [and] being there for them at all times,” he said. “At the end of the day, they want to be safe and we give them the support, responsibility, and accountability to do that.”

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