Information-Age -- The bookies have predicted that we’re headed for a white Christmas - great news for those who like a picture perfect festive season, but what about those whose job it is to be out on the road?
Plummeting temperatures, ice and sludge and plus poor visibility all make driving even more dangerous. But drivers such as those delivering Christmas presents, service companies fixing broken down cars and those maintaining power lines, will all be out and about, no matter what the weather.
Winter amplifies safety concerns on the road, but there is actually a lot of innovation through tech that is aiming to improve the safety of fleets all year round, no matter the weather.
For example, Samsung has been developing an idea that could make a big difference to fleet and road safety. The Korean tech giant recently blogged about its new ‘Safety Truck’ which uses four screens attached to the back of a trailer to display the view in front to vehicles behind.
Samsung says this is to help traffic behind large vehicles make informed decisions about overtaking, sudden braking or even animals on the road.
Supported by Volvo, it's at prototype stage with trials taking place in Argentina, a country where head-on collisions caused by overtaking is one of the biggest contributors to road deaths.
But prototype or not, it’s a concept that has the safety of all road users at its core - which means there is every chance we will see this kind of innovation come to UK roads soon.
This is undoubtedly forward-thinking from Samsung, but it’s actually just the tip of the iceberg in terms of tech innovations designed to advance road and fleet safety.
Telematics is one tech solution that is playing an increasing role in fleet safety, with platforms that now analyse a driver’s style and provide feedback to both managers and drivers in real time. This helps correct the likes of harsh acceleration and braking in real-time, before they become a safety issue.
- See more at: http://www.information-age.com/industry/services/123460545/how-tech-transforming-road-safety-fleet-drivers-winter#sthash.5eW3jgUT.dpuf