Truck Topics
Keeping It Between The Lines
It seems as though advances in technology never cease, particularly in the area of traffic and vehicle safety. These advances include vehicle safety camera systems, vehicle radar proximity systems and a whole list of new products designed to keep the commercial driver safe.
One system that is finding increasing acceptance among U.S. trucking fleets is a technology called lane-departure warning system (LDW).
What is LDW?
LDW uses a technology called Machine Vision to track a vehicles position relative to the lane markings. Using image recognition software, the system can detect when a vehicle drifts towards an unintended lane change.
When this occurs, the unit automatically emits a distinctive "rumble strip" sound from the left or right speaker (depending on which way the vehicle is drifting), alerting the driver to make a correction.
LDW works effectively both day and night and in most weather conditions where lane markings are visible. LDW is capable of detecting both solid and dashed lines even if the lines are heavily faded.
Bill Patrolia is the Director of National TruckSales for the Santa Ana, CA-based Iteris, Inc.,a provider of vision-based technologies and intelligent transportation systems. He says that LDW was originally deployed in Europe around 2000 and is now offered by all of the European OEM's.
Since its U.S. debut in 2002, major trucking fleets such as Prime, Inc., Maverick and Melton Trucking have implemented the LDW with encouraging results.
Results
At the end of 2006, Prime equipped 515 trucks with Iteris’ LDW systems. These trucks traveled 33.3 million miles and experienced a run-off-road and rollover crash rate of 0.03 per million, or one in 33.3 million miles traveled. This represents a decrease of 85 percent, a significant number considering the substantial costs associated with heavy truck crashes.
“The initial investment Prime has made to install Iteris’ Lane Departure Warning systems in our fleet of trucks has really paid off,†says Robert Low, founder and president of Prime Inc., one of North America’s largest refrigerated, flatbed and tanker carriers.
“In less than a year, we have seen a dramatic reduction in run-off-road and rollover accidents on the trucks we equipped with the technology, which has saved the company a considerable amount of money."
“Our goal is to assist truck fleets in achieving a significant return on its safety investment through the deployment of our LDWS technology, and Prime is an excellent example of how effective our system can be,†says Iteris' Bill Patrolia.
“Prime was one of the first large fleets to make our LDW technology standard. They were sold on the potential of LDW to save lives, make our highways safer and provide a positive financial return."
Market penetration
Iteris has sold more than 30,000 LDW systems to the heavy truck market worldwide, representing an estimated 3 billion miles traveled per year. In the United States, there are currently 40 fleets specifying Iteris’ LDW system with a combined fleet size of nearly 20,000 trucks, and another 69 fleets with about 144,000 trucks conducting field tests.
Another transportation giant is currently engaged in testing the Iteris technology. FedEx Corp. has installed or will soon install LDW in trucks from its varied operating companies, including FedEx Custom Critical.
"FedEx Custom Critical is the first surface expedited company to test the system," says Bill Patrolia.
From the drivers
Bob and Linda Caffee are straight truck owner-operators with Custom Critical and they tell us how their involvement in the testing came about: "The FedEx Custom Critical Safety Manager told us about the system and asked us if we would be interested in trying it out."
"Bob and I are always interested in anything that helps us to become safer drivers, so we said OK."
The installation required a visit to Iteris' California headquarters and, as luck would have it, the couple secured a run to Los Angeles. After delivery, the Caffee's met with the Iteris "troubleshooter" who performed the installation.
Bob says, "Installation usually requires around four hours but our truck was only the second Freightliner M2 to have one installed. Because of some electronics issues, it took a little longer - around 7 hours."
(Bill Patrolia says that the LDW system can be switched from one truck to a similar truck model that uses the same software.)
"We've had the LDW in the truck for close to two months now and I really believe it's a good product. It's a great safety device and we recommend it to anyone."
He describes the equipment: "The camera is no bigger than a Pre-Pass/EZ-Pass sensor. It's mounted about two inches down from the top of the windshield and six inches right of center."
"The system's brain (processor) is mounted inside the headliner. The unit is about eight inches square and maybe an inch and a half thick. The whole system mounts in the cab and it's very unobtrusive."
In operation
Bob gives us the details: "When the truck is started, the system does a self-test and it's ready to go."
"The first time the warning went off, I just about fell out of my seat, it shocked me so badly!" says Linda. (Volume is adjustable)
Bob continues, "The camera is adjusted to watch the white line, center or shoulder line on the road and if the truck drifts over those lines, you get the warning."
Linda says, "We noticed right away how effective it is when you're tired and you start drifting in the lane. Before we tried the system, we always thought we were pretty good drivers and that we stayed in our lane the way we're supposed to. This really lets you know how much you actually drift."
Bob says that the Caffees' truck interior is ergonomically arranged with everything within easy grasp of the driver's position. Or so they thought. The LDW showed them just how often they would begin to drift when reaching for something in the cab.
"When you go to pass, you use your turn signal to turn the system off. For those drivers who don't ordinarily use their signals, this system will act as a strong reminder."
He adds, "Or, f you're on a really narrow road and the warning keeps sounding, you can shut the system off for a fifteen minute increment."
"I think they've thought of everything!"
Linda says that the couple's driving has improved since installation of the system, night time driving in particular:
"At night, you tend to get a little sloppy in your driving because of the reduced traffic. This device really made us aware of that. It also shows you just how tired you are and that it's time to pull over for a nap or driver change."
"We were concerned that the system would wake up the sleeping co-driver. Our truck was the first to be tested with a team operation and they didn't know if the system would be too loud. It's not a problem."
Bob concludes, "I'm really impressed by the system Our next truck is going to have it!"