Benefits
Commercial Vehicles
IntelliDriveSM applications are designed to deliver wide-ranging safety, efficiency, economic, and security benefits for commercial vehicles. The three major categories of IntelliDriveSM applications for commercial vehicles could potentially include:
- Safety technologies that reduce commercial vehicle crashes, and improve response to crashes that do occur.
- Travel information technologies that reduce travel times and make trip time estimates more reliable.
- Wireless inspection and enforcement technologies that enable more efficient operations at inspection stations, intermodal facilities and border crossings; and improved security and tracking for high-risk/regulated cargo.
Safety Technologies
Commercial motor carriers were among the first to field test advanced safety technology systems, and some carriers have already installed these systems in their vehicles. Some of the many IntelliDriveSM safety applications that could be applied in commercial motor vehicles include:
- Driver Condition Monitoring - An on-board system monitors driver fatigue, and sounds an alarm if the driver shows signs of drifting off to sleep.
- Collision Avoidance - Drivers approaching a slowed or stopped object too rapidly, or following a vehicle too closely, receive an audio and visual warning. If a vehicle traveling ahead suddenly decelerates, an alert notifies the driver of the deceleration. The system also warns drivers of impending side or rear-impact collisions.
- Curve Speed Warning - If the vehicle's speed is higher than recommended for the curve, the system will warn the driver to slow down..
- Trucker Advisory System - Drivers are warned when approaching a geographic location that has a high frequency of commercial vehicle crashes.
Travel Information Technologies
IntelliDriveSM is transforming real-time travel information delivery. Professional drivers can be major beneficiaries of IntelliDriveSM travel information services.
Networked Traveler systems, to be field tested in California in 2009, delivers information directly to drivers in practical and personalized formats, via cell phone, desktop, laptop, handheld computers and mobile Internet devices, and on-board after-market devices. Drivers personally customize the types of information they want to receive. Features of particular interest to commercial drivers include:
Tell Me About The Route - Real-time information about a specific travel route.
- Route Choice - Enables drivers to choose the most eco-friendly, or the fastest route.
- Traffic - Enables drivers to avoid areas of high traffic congestion by taking alternate routes, or adjusting trip schedule.
- Travel Times - Provides estimates of point-to-point travel times based on real-time conditions.
- Road Condition Alerts - Provides speed zone information, work zones, upcoming intersections, hazard alerts.
Watch Out for Me - Safety alerts (to make road users aware of each other).
- Collision Avoidance - Vehicles alert one another when they are on a collision path.
- Vehicle Distress Signals - Vehicles send alerts other drivers when help is needed.
Commercial vehicle operators also can benefit from IntelliDriveSM real-time travel information applications will be available on line and at Interstate welcome centers.
- Interactive Internet Maps - On line, interactive maps will enable carriers to assess traffic conditions within and between major metro areas, at a glance. For example, operators driving from Washington, DC to New York will be able to see whether there are any major incidents delaying travel on their route.
- Welcome Center Travel Time Displays - Large screen displays of travel time information at Interstate welcome centers will help drivers plan their trips, and adjust their route to accommodate local travel conditions.
Wireless Safety Inspections
IntelliDriveSM technologies have the potential to dramatically reduce truck fatalities through wireless safety inspections, while minimizing disruptions to safe and legal motor carrier operation. Although truck safety factors are identified as the principal cause of 64 percent of fatal truck crashes,1 resources for roadside safety inspection programs are scarce. Only 3 million truck inspections are conducted annually, versus 177 million weight inspections. Consequently, compliance rates for truck safety rules are problematic - 73 percent of safety inspections turn up violations - while only 0.29 percent of weight inspections result in a violation citation. Electronic safety checks could be more frequent and expected, which would increase compliance rates and reduce crashes caused by unsafe drivers and vehicle safety defects.
Most of the safety defects identified in inspections could be effectively monitored with on-board equipment, and inspected wirelessly. The table below shows the most frequent types of safety violations leading to Out of Service (OOS) citations for motor carrier drivers, or their vehicles. With the exception of load securement, these criteria can be electronically monitored.
| Driver Violations | Percent Driver Out-of-Service Violations | Vehicle Violations | Percent Vehicle Out-of-Service Violations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logbook | 40.0% | Brakes | 41.2% |
| Hours of Service | 28.7 | Lighting | 16.6 |
| Commercial Drivers' License | 19.4 | Tires | 9.4 |
| Load Securement | 15.7 | ||
| Total | 88.1% | Total | 82.9% |
Electronic Weight Inspections
Electronic weight inspections save time, fuel, and operational costs. E-screening at fixed weight stations allows trucks to bypass the station by wirelessly transmitting vehicle identification and weight data. Some states are implementing e-screening at "virtual weight stations," sometimes on mobile platforms. A study of fleets involved in the PrePass Pre-Clearance Weigh Station bypass system between 1997 and 2007 reported that over the 10-year period the system saved:
- 20 million hours in avoided delay
- 120 million gallons of fuel
- $1.1 billion in operational cost savings (assuming $5 per stop)
Future Vision
Examples of future operations that could be enabled by IntelliDriveSM include:
- Traffic probe sensors could alert shippers or ports of a commercial vehicle's estimated time of arrival;
- Inspection stations could provide traffic volume and speed data to operations managers;
- Toll plazas could collect data from commercial vehicle diagnostic systems in support of wireless inspections;
- Electronic screening sites could provide vehicle count, vehicle classification, and weight data to support transportation planning activities; and
- Inspection stations could query vehicle-based weather/precipitation sensors and relay that information to a state's weather/traveler information system.
For more information, see Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Web Site.
- Steve Keppler, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and Jeff Loftus FMCSA, presentation on Wireless Roadside Safety Inspection Research Program, Technology Maintenance Council, ITS Activities Committee Meeting, Feb. 5, 2008, Orlando, FL.