• Skip to main content

Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers

Client-first legal representation for injury victims. Injured? Free Consultation:

(312) 376-3812

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Attorneys
      • Ken Levinson
      • Jay Stefani
      • Vanessa A. Gebka
    • Practice Areas
      • Truck Crashes
      • Bus Collisions
      • Auto Accidents
      • Child Injuries
  • Firm News
  • Library
    • Articles
    • Cases
    • Law
    • Video
  • Blog
  • For Lawyers
    • Focus Groups
  • Free Case Review

Technology

A First Look into Kodiak Robotics’ Self-Driving Longhaul Trucks

August 16, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving truck company based out of San Francisco, has finally detailed its recent approach to the challenge of giving long-haul trucks self-driving technology after its 350th commercial delivery.

The company has released a 49-page safety self-assessment report demonstrating its commitment to public safety. The report gives a detailed explanation of how the startup operates and programs its autonomous vehicle technology.

“We believe it’s critical that we begin the process of explaining to the general public not just how we are safely testing our vehicles, but how we’re going to prove, mathematically and in plain English, that our vehicles are comprehensively safe even without a person behind the wheel,” said Kodiak co-founders Paz Eshel and Don Burnette.

This candid self-assessment aims to soothe any skepticism among the public and build trust and rapport with other motorists on the road.

“Given our progress, we think it’s time for Kodiak to start talking more about our unique, truck-focused technology,” said Burnette, who has previously worked for companies such as Otto, Uber, and Google.

Kodiak uses computer simulation and test track runs to examine and analyze its technology. The company was founded in April of 2018, had its first on-road test the following March, and made its very first delivery in July of 2019. Now, it has a fleet of 10 trucks hauling commercial freight throughout the state of Texas. Kodiak is also one of only a few trucking startups working to bring automation technology to long-haul trucking.

The startup’s technology often mimics how human drivers operate vehicles, such as within its ability to use lane markings as visual cues, rather than built-in map programming. This system within the “Kodiak Driver” allows for the vehicle to respond to and avoid unexpected obstacles on the road, like construction projects, even when the program’s maps don’t show them.

This ability is referred to as “perception over priors–i.e., that the Kodiak Driver trusts its eyes, not its memory, and we believe it represents a significant step forward for the AV industry,” said the company.

In its safety assessment, the Kodiak team shares its reasoning for focusing heavily on “structure highway driving” rather than city driving, as well as how its specifically-designed systems benefit heavy-duty trucks.

“We optimize our driving for safety, not comfort: paper towels don’t care if they get jostled a bit, whereas a rideshare passenger expects a smooth ride,” said the company.

In 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released “Voluntary Guidance–Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety,” which included a suggestion for any companies aligned with automated driving systems to provide a public assessment of their approaches to safety.

Since this recommendation, nearly two dozen companies have submitted these assessments, including other automated commercial vehicle competitors of Kodiak, like Waymo, TuSimple, and Starsky Robotics–although Starsky has since gone out of business.

“At Kodiak, we are strategic about every mile we drive,” said the company in its report. “We never drive our trucks for the sake of just logging more miles. Of course, this disciplined approach means we will probably never log as many test miles as some of our competitors. We see our lower mileage count not as a risk, but as a sign of our commitment to safety.”

Also present in Kodiak’s report was its explanation of its commercial-grade steering column “designed specifically for trucks,” which will eventually expand into dual-redundant electric motors that will allow the automated system to stay easily controlled if one motor fails. The system’s sensors also have “overlapping fields of view, so that every region around the truck is seen by multiple sensors,” which will allow the Kodiak Driver to always know the details of its surroundings, even if a sensor might fail. The AV technology will actuate the vehicle on “redundant, fault-tolerant computers,” that will run independently from the main computer. “These computers always know how to bring the truck to a safe stop, so that if the main computer should ever fail, they can safely achieve a Minimal Risk Condition,” the report stated.

Still, deploying a fleet of self-driving trucks without a safety driver on board is not likely to happen within the next year, Burnette explained.

“The fact is, once people get used to them, self-driving trucks will actually be pretty boring,” he said. “They’ll largely stay in the right lane, they’ll never weave in and out of traffic, and they’ll never speed.”

Supporters of automated vehicles within the commercial truck industry say these trucks will be much safer than human drivers, who often run red lights, text, fall asleep at the wheel, or otherwise become dangerously distracted while on the road.

“Our mission is to build the world’s most efficient, reliable, and respected freight carrier, using our autonomous technology,” explained Burnette. “Operating as a carrier will allow us to design our technology to meet shippers’ needs, and ultimately allow us to build a better product.”

Fleets Look to Onboard Camera Systems for Lower Insurance Rates

July 22, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking companies have been working to avoid protracted litigation, fight rising insurance costs, and coach their drivers with onboard cameras.

The reasoning behind this development is that having cameras installed on a truckers’ dashboards will potentially lower premiums, especially if a recording exonerates a driver after a dangerous event. Because of this, most insurance companies have expressed their support of these onboard cameras; however, it has long been in question whether or not these in-cab video capabilities will actually bring discounted insurance premiums.

Currently, trucking companies believe that once data and footage are analyzed and can show that fleets are effectively using this technology to train drivers and keep them accountable, the insurance breaks will come. Still, expensive settlements within trucking litigation have seen large increases, which, in turn, boost fleets’ overall insurance costs.

“These types of settlements are driving our trucking companies out of business, driving insurance rates to levels we’ve never seen in the last decade,” said Jim Angel, video intelligence solutions vice president of Trimble, a company providing Class 8 Fleets with in-cab camera systems.

Fleets can also gain liability protection with onboard video capabilities, though.

“More often than not, the truck driver is exonerated,” said SmartDrive operating officer Jason Palmer. SmartDrive offers fleets a variety of video-based safety programs. “It’s really there to protect the driver, and even if they are at fault, they’d want to know about it right away.”

Angel explained that because fatal car-truck crashes are typically caused by passenger car drivers (70-75% of the time, according to an American Trucking Associations 2013 report), companies can easily get lower insurance deductibles when they win most litigation battles. Therefore, with the help of onboard camera footage, trucking companies will no longer have to pay out as many false claims.

“If you take advantage of the odds of truck drivers only being at fault a small minority of the time, then having the right tools is absolutely key,” explained Angel.

Bob Fuller, AssuredPartners/Fleet Risk Management agency president agrees.

“Paying for claims and damages that are the fault of the truckers is not really the issue,” he said. “No one is trying to dodge legitimate liability, but we’re trying to isolate that legitimate liability as compared to frivolous litigations–claims that have no foundation–and the camera certainly helps us do that.”

Onboard camera system supplier, Lytx, has worked with insurance companies for over 10 years. Eliot Feldstein, Lytx corporate development senior vice president, said this collaboration is to the benefit of everyone involved.

“[Insurance companies] have realized early on that once they write a liability policy for a trucking company, it’s in their best economic interest to make sure the trucking companies have the lowest collisions and the best performance they can,” Feldstein said. “A safer fleet with a better track record gets better insurance pricing. They’re a better risk when they go out and look for insurance, and we are able to formalize that with a variety of insurance companies.”

Feldstein also said that insurers will often take on the load of subsidizing the cost of Lytx systems, because video evidence in a litigation can be crucial. Additionally, he asserted that fleets need to use telematics system data in effective ways in order to deliver better services and settle claims more quickly and easily.

Additionally, maintaining safe driving methods and behaviors is a priority for all sides. These camera systems give more opportunities for trucker coaching than ever, and insurance companies are focusing on this aspect.

“[The technology] makes drivers more conscientious of driving skills when they realize the potential for what they’re doing to be recorded. It can be a great training tool if it is implemented properly,” said Fuller. “The telematics will allow an intervention on an unsafe behavior much earlier, which translates into lower insurance costs and a more efficient operation.

Ensuring truckers are gaining valuable training from video data is particularly important to insurers, said Todd Reiser, vice president at Lockton Cos., a risk management firm.

“That camera footage and data being reviewed and utilized and being part of the training process on an ongoing basis is the most important thing insurance companies want to see,” he explained.

Causing fewer crashes and a decrease in unsafe driving behavior through data review and coaching is the main goal of insurers, said Brandon Krueger, senior director of IT and fleet services at KKW Trucking.

“You’re seeing these events you wouldn’t otherwise see that create coachable events–you’re coaching against risk behavior–that will theoretically result in [fewer] events per miles driven. It’s that claims experience the insurance company is looking for and what they’re basing their premiums on,” he explained.

Volvo Trucks Repurposes its 3D Printers to Produce PPE

July 9, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Volvo Trucks is working to help fight COVID-19 by using its 3D printing capabilities–made for producing truck parts–to create personal protective equipment.

“We contacted LewisGale [Hospital] three or four weeks ago at the beginning of this and asked them if there was anything they would anticipate needing in the future if things get too sour in our area,” said Franky Marchand, Volvo Truck Plant Manager and VP. “First, they said everything was good, but after further consideration, asked us if we could make some face shields.”

Cone Health, a healthcare provider network with over 100 locations, asked Volvo if it would be able to help procure PPE for its workers to be prepared for the pandemic’s peak within its hospitals.

Originally, Marchand began searching for face shields to buy and then donate, but wasn’t able to secure a large enough number of the PPE. He then found a way for the company to obtain enough clear Plexiglas to start producing its own face shields.

“We put our 3D printers to work to make the piece that attaches to [the visor],” Marchand said. “So, we [tried] a couple of different styles to see, ‘OK, that works.’ An advantage of 3D printing is that you can fail fast, very fast. That way, you can quickly get to a solution.”

Chairman of Volvo Group North America and president of Mack Trucks, Martin Weissburg, said this pandemic has shown how the company can do its part in a national emergency.

“I’ve been a business leader for more than 25 years, and I’ve been through a variety of crises, and [have] never seen one like this,” he said. “If we can build the best trucks and power systems in the industry, we can sure help out with some plastic parts for face masks.”

After securing the materials for the plastic shields, the company had to next develop ear guards for the face shields’ wearability.

“That’s something we started to figure out,” Marchand explained. “You hear those terrible stories about the nurses and doctors who are wearing those masks more than normal. The typical mask attaches with a piece of elastic behind the ears; it gets painful to wear that every day. So, some of our people made a piece that takes the tension out from behind your head and [connects] the two pieces of elastic, and not through your ears.”

To produce the face shields, a 3D printer uses laser technology along with a computer design to create a 3D object from a liquid photopolymer. The object is then produced from the bottom up by each individual micrometer layer–this is how the printer produces its face shields.

Additionally, some employees have been able to utilize their 3D printers at home to make the “ear savers” explained by Marchand. A home printer can create about 70 of these adjustable clips–which take the stress of the mask’s ear loops off a wearer’s ear–in about four hours.

Volvo’s main 3D printer has been in use 24/7 to create the plastic visors that are then attached to the plastic shields. The machine can only make about 24 visors a day, so Fargeon has been working around the clock to keep the printer running smoothly.

“We were able to shift some of our production tools and start producing,” said Steve Barnhardt, Volvo’s chief engineer. “When you say people are really in need, it’s really easy to get people motivated to work on this.”

Volvo has now produced hundreds of these face shields, making about 33 every day.

“Some companies you see, they’ve made thousands of [face shields],” Marchand said. “Those are typically the disposable ones, which are the ones that the hospital usually gets. Of course, we didn’t know what exactly the hospital needed. They normally get the disposable facial. Those are made to be cheap enough to be disposable, because they generally don’t like to reuse them. [Our face shield] allows them to not have to buy some every day, especially while their supply chain is in trouble.”

Volvo’s face shields also provide more overall protection than many others.

“As they tested it, they found one model that they liked better than the rest because it was enclosed on top, so that it feels a little heavier, but it gives them that extra protection from the top, and that’s what they’ve asked for,” Marchand explained further. “I’m told the local EMS and fire departments like them a lot.”

Cone Health is now at capacity for these face shields, according to Mary Beth Halprin, vice president of PR and corporate affairs for Volvo, after these influx of donations. Now, Volvo is continuing its effort by creating PPE for other health care facilities, as well as giving its shields to Volvo employees.

Waste Collection Truckers Find Safety Challenges With New In-Cab Layouts

June 6, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking technology has become more prevalent throughout the industry, with carriers wondering how truckers will adapt to the new automated changes and often worrying about what will happen should a system malfunction. Waste management trucking companies, however, have recently expressed different concerns.

“There’s literally no real estate left inside the truck,” said president and owner of Leck Waste Services, Jason Leck.

As vehicle technology continues to advance, waste truck drivers and their carriers are having to implement many new systems. In doing so, these truckers are also fighting for their safety.

Leck Waste Services out of Ivyland, Pennsylvania, for example, has seen its drivers in all its collection vehicles, including front loaders and fully automated trucks, working to learn their way around advanced technological systems and software. Leck’s trucks have begun to utilize fleet management software from Soft-Pak, which aims to make GPS tracking, mapping, and route productivity features more accessible; arm-mounted digital scales from Air-Weigh; and 3rd Eye, a camera system by Dover which works to document both in-cab and external events in an effort to improve fleet operation safety.

However, while this tech may help carriers to boost profitability and efficiency, it has also brought its challenges.

“In a conventional truck, there seems to be a little bit more cab space, but when you move into the cab design in a front loader or even a semi-automated or fully automated collection truck, with all the control panels that are installed inside the cab, there’s very limited space,” explained Leck. “Then, when you start adding additional technology and mounting tablets and driver-facing cameras, we’re starting to fight for real estate.”

In other words, drivers have no room in the cab. Another safety hazard at hand, according to Leck, is that the more technology present in a cab that requires its own display screen, the more logistical issues and distraction possibilities come into play.

“Accidents typically happen when your driver has to stop what he’s doing in the process of servicing something to do something in the cab, and then he goes back to what he’s doing and starts to drive again,” said Leck. “Are we creating an issue where we require drivers to be touching or looking at tablets every time they service an account?”

The topic of in-cab safety has also brought to the attention of the National Waste and Recycling Association’s safety committee other cab layout issues and their effects on drivers. NWRA’s chief of staff and vice president of safety and standards, Kirk Sander, said that one prominent example is the parking brake, which is often not placed well enough for newer truckers to easily pay attention to–especially when they’ve been used to operating automatic vehicles.

“I think technology is the best way to start the conversation, but I think technology is just a piece of the conversation of what the cab layout should look like,” said Sander.

Fortunately, some possible solutions have come to light during panel discussions on this topic. A conversation at WasteExpo was especially helpful when experts began explaining the needs within the industry to create a standard design for truck cabs that could result from a truck manufacturer and technology solutions provider collaboration, said Leck.

These groups could potentially create a new and more efficient way to use fleet management software and safety systems within truck cabs. Leck said the panel at the convention agreed that an industry trade association–like the NWRA–developing a new in-cab design standard “for how [manufacturers and software providers] share that space” would be the best solution.

“We need the data and information to be able to run our business, but we need to do it in a safe way,” said Leck.

WasteExpo’s panel discussed the possibility of implementing a “central device” in the cab for a driver to more easily access multiple applications at a time, as well as the benefits of dedicating one in-dash location for the tablet that would be easily reachable and able to display all applications.

“Our thought is there is this ability for all these technologies and routing software to be utilized on one tablet in the vehicle that is designed to be placed in a certain location for the driver in a user-friendly area,” Leck explained. “All the software that’s being developed should have to be able to work on that system that the driver could use. It would be cleaner, easier, and safer if all those things didn’t have to be independently installed in the cab.”

As Technology Advances, Disruptions Could be Detrimental for Fleets

February 29, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Digital Truck. The concept of digital technology in the delivery industry. 3D Illustration

After last year’s GPS rollover on April 6th, the extent to which many carriers lean on technology became evident. The GPS update event, which takes place around every 20 years, brought to light the trucking industry’s possibility of experiencing widespread tech malfunctions–and the large problems those can easily cause for businesses.

The update connects to the system’s 10-digit format. Once it runs out of 10 binary digits, it must undergo a large-scale update.

“We don’t hear many questions from fleets that we work with on the concern of a network-wide outage,” said Deryk Powell, president of Velociti. “The GPS rollover event heightened the awareness of that for some fleets–it’s absolutely a concern.”

Smaller tech interruptions can be just as disruptive.

“Systems go down occasionally,” said founder of C.J. Driscoll & Associations, Clem Driscoll. “A particular telematics provider may have its servers go down. It doesn’t happen often..but it does happen from time to time. That can be an issue.”

Geotab commercial vehicle solutions vice president Scott Sutarik agrees. He said technology progression is vital in regards to safety improvement, even at the risk of systems going down. This is true, he explained, across all tech use–from electronic logging device compliance, safety camera systems, and radio frequency identification to fuel tax reporting, cargo sensors, and electronic door locks.

These updates will only continue across all technology, said Greentree Advisors LLC founder Ken Davis. As we see more manufacturers entering the industry with electric or hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles, he believes that 25 percent of the global vehicle market will be electric by 2030–a trend we will see among commercial vehicles as Class 5 to 6 vehicles lean toward electric operation as well.

“Trucking does depend on GPS a lot, but it is generally a very reliable system,” said Driscoll. “The U.S. military depends on it. It’s used for all kinds of commercial and government applications. There can be problems, but they are not very common.”

Supporters of electric commercial vehicles note that current trucks with internal combustion engines cost 30% more than those electrically powered. There are, however, worries around charging infrastructure development and grid capability, as electric vehicle demand is pushed forward by regulation and subsidies.

Although this tech brings innovative benefits to the industry, Powell also explained that disruptions to service can impact the bottom line of a carrier, thus negatively affecting its business overall.

“When you’re talking about drivers having to revert back to paper logs [in the event of a disruption], as an example, it’s a real issue for the industry,” he said “There is a mandate around the repair of ELDs. You have eight days to get a broken ELD repaired. That’s a real issue for fleets.” He also explained that many drivers–especially those new to the industry–could possibly have zero paper log experience.

It would, however, be much easier for truckers to revert temporarily to logging manually than it would be for smaller fleets using TMS systems to have to fall back on manual processes, noted McLeod Software marketing vice president Mark Cubine.

“Those examples are good wake-up calls for the vulnerability of technology,” he said. “Fortunately, in the case of driver’s logs, there is a paper paradigm that an individual driver could go back to.”

Currently, asset managers include mobility providers, said Davis. As services move toward digital reliance, mobility services take the place of financing, maintenance, storage, parking, and ownership. Availability is extremely vital with this mobility, he explained.

“I think the danger is more–in terms of losing functionality of ELDs and fleet management–it’s more [about] individual systems that could have hardware or software failures,” said Driscoll. “I think it’s more in the area of specific devices and specific solutions.”

The way to best combat these large-scale issues? Researching while investing in new carrier technology, said Sutarik.

“Companies that do not share a similar focus on engineering and continuous innovation, and instead accumulate legacy IT debt by focusing their efforts on keeping old and outdated systems working, are made more vulnerable to threats such as downtime,” he explained.

The potential for progress and success will always outweigh the risks, though. Industry professionals like Davis reiterate that staying up-to-date as new technologies grow in development is the best way to stay ahead of important opportunities as they arise throughout the industry.

Modern Safety Technology has Huge Effects on Trucking and Insurance

October 17, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As new safety technologies become more and more prevalent in the trucking industry and regulations continue to change, insurance costs for motor carriers increases steadily.

Some of this new tech, like avoidance systems, collision mitigation, and onboard cameras, aim to help motor carriers cut out common expensive losses and monitor the behavior of their drivers while on the road.

But how are these technologies affecting insurance companies’ underwriting processes?

Pricing is typically based around individual trucking company losses and general trends in the industry. “Rate increases have ranged from single digits to, in some cases, double or worse depending on these factors,” says Todd Reiser, vice president of the transportation practice at Lockton Cos.

If companies aren’t able to choose from multiple insurers within commercial auto liability, they end up having much higher costs that affect premiums. Additionally, trucking litigation has become much worse over the last few years.

“Jury awards in excess of $10 million are becoming more prevalent, especially in the trucking world where higher liability limits are often purchased,” explains director of underwriting for transportation at Sentry Insurance, Randy Ramczyk.

The maximum amount of coverage a primary liability policy usually covers before excess coverage is $5 million, which varies below that number. Some fleets buy a policy with minimum limits around $750,000 or $1 million, while large fleets generally go for a policy that offers a higher limit, typically up to $5 million, Reiser says.

However, Garner Brumbaugh, second vice chairman of American Trucking Associations, says she hasn’t been in the “open” insurance market for the past 18 years, because she uses her own insurance company through a “captive”–a system where members focus on a culture of safety.

According to Reiser, both primary liability and excess liability underwriters keep in mind that safety tech has major effects in reducing large losses, and are “under a ton of pressure” to remain profitable.

“It is difficult to measure the exact impact of accidents that have either not happened at all or have been substantially mitigated by these technologies, especially for fleets that are largely self-insured,” he says. He also explains that motor carriers such as these are able to use their own safety data to show a significant drop in rear-end collisions for trucks with collision mitigation systems.

“Only the most financially stable carriers will see value in continuing to buy high levels of excess insurance,” says Reiser.

Additionally, new safety tech is now allowing motor carriers to gain data straight from the cab–not only to improve driver behavior, but to mitigate the cost of an accident. For example, driver-facing cameras have been extremely helpful in avoiding accidents and correcting unsafe behaviors.

“When drivers know a camera is in the cab, they know whatever they do could potentially be reviewed,” says Reiser. Cameras can also help a fleet be exempt from liability, because they can be used to determine who is at fault in a collision.

Other tech, like crash avoidance systems, equip vehicles with a resource to reduce accident severity–especially in lane change and merging incidents.

Because of circumstances like these, some insurers are now establishing prerequisites, meaning they are only considering risks that use particular technology, including camera systems and collision avoidance.

Another widely-used new tech changing the insurance game? ELDs.

Since 2017, electronic logging devices have been mandated in commercial trucks. If a carrier goes without ELDs, insurers will typically not agree to write that particular risk.

Brumbaugh says ELDs are doing well at making the industry safer overall. “The challenges will be the learning curve, which takes time after full implementation,” which will go into effect this December. 

Sentry’s Ramczyk says camera systems and collision mitigation systems are becoming the most effective in regards to safety, though. “Common sense would dictate that this technology can and will help minimize the number of commercial trucking accidents,” he says.

Insurers are now paying for hardware installation like these in certain vehicles, especially with systems like cameras, instead of providing discounts to companies for using them.

Craig Dancer, transportation industry practice leader at Marsh USA Inc. says this is to be expected. “The insurer is betting that their investment in safety technology will be paid back over time based on their insured’s improved loss experience.”

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • Go to Next Page »

Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers in Chicago / Attorney Advertising