https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Article

Using technology to predict and prevent collisions

Using technology to predict and prevent collisions

Mobile, Ala., uses video-based driver risk management program to increase safety and cost savings.
  • Written by Derek Prall
  • 14th May 2014

Project: Video-Based Driver Risk Management Program to increase safety and cost savings
Jurisdiction: Mobile, Ala.
Agency: Mobile, Ala.
Vendor: Lytx (formerly DriveCam, Inc.)
Date Completed: Ongoing

In 2009, Mobile, Ala. recorded 10 at-fault accidents in its solid waste division and 16 collisions in its trash division. "We made a commitment to our community to operate the safest fleet possible, while also reducing costs for the city," says Mobile Safety Manager Gary Gamble.  As a result, the municipality decided to deploy the DriveCam powered by Lytx video-based driver risk management program.

The program’s technology improves safety by combining data and video analytics with real-time driver feedback and coaching, resulting in reductions in collision-related costs and fuel consumption. The solution scores, prioritizes and tracks the results of driving behaviors to identify improvement opportunities for increased safety. An in-vehicle video event recorder captures driving behavior, which is objectively reviewed and scored by trained professionals, then passed on to the fleet for use in coaching drivers.

Mobile started with a small trial program that soon expanded to 30 event recorders. Thanks to the increased transparency as to what was actually happening in various vehicle fleets, Mobile began to save money by reducing accident claims.

Since deploying the video-based driver risk management program in 2009, the city has experienced a 62 percent decrease in incidents. "We’ve significantly reduced risky driving behaviors like distracted and drowsy driving, as well as following too closely, which can lead to future incidents,” says Gamble. Mobile also reports that compliance with its seatbelt and cell phone usage policies has also dramatically improved.

“The [program] also allows us to protect and exonerate our drivers through the use of video,” continued Gamble. In fact, both city managers and drivers have seen many instances where the recorders have proven beneficial in securing driver exonerations and protection from fraudulent claims. In one case, a city trash truck traveling in a residential neighborhood making a left-hand turn was hit by another vehicle attempting an illegal pass. “If we didn’t have the unit installed, it would have been difficult to prove that it was not our fault, even though the other driver was behaving in a reckless manner,” says Gamble.

Today there are 110 units across the city’s transit, public works, ambulance and fire truck fleets, among others. Mobile leadership hopes to expand the solution to all of its public works vehicles including supervisor vehicles, parks and maintenance vehicles, and smaller vehicles used by code inspectors and others. In addition, the city is looking at ways to reward employees using the information and insights gained from working with the program.

_____________

To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on Youtube

Tags: Public Works & Utilities Smart Cities & Technology Article

Most Recent


  • road maintenance
    Road maintenance is a good place to incorporate sustainable practices; predictive data analysis can help
    One way to achieve sustainability is to work to extend the life of an agency’s existing assets, says Matt Sprague, industry strategy director – local government at Trimble, a technology company that offers a variety of integrated infrastructure solutions. The solutions may enable improved decision-making by connecting the right information with the right administrators and […]
  • water systems
    Compliance clock is ticking: Community water systems have one year to complete a Service Line Inventory
    In about 12 months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expect all public water systems to have completed a Service Line Inventory, which is a complete accounting of the material of every service connection in the public network that delivers drinking water. The main purpose of the regulation (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, or LCRR) […]
  • Adding resilience to roads without reconstruction
    In Vermont this summer, torrential rains caused flooding of historic proportions, washing out roads or covering them in feet of mud. And in some coastal areas, sea level rise is making ‘sunny-day’ flooding a twice-monthly occurrence when the moon’s cycles pull tides higher. Often, the hardest hit areas during such extreme weather events are communities’ […]
  • materials
    Public buyers have several options to keep problem materials out of the waste stream
    Cities and counties are taking multiple steps towards sustainability, says Curran Hughes, co-founder and president of Renegade Plastics, a fabric product manufacturer that offers an alternative to PVC (polyvinyl chloride)-coated fabrics. Its low carbon coated fabrics curtail plastic waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company. “Local governments are doing a nice job […]

One comment

  1. Avatar Kevinmn 11th June 2014 @ 9:55 am
    Reply

    Well! great share! Most
    Well! great share! Most collisions are caused by driver error than by any other factors. The tragedy is that nearly all collisions could have been prevented. Safe driving habits are simple, but in today’s hectic driving world, they are often overlooked, forgotten or simply ignored. I am really happy if we can apply technology to predict and prevent collisions in future.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • 10 reasons why local governments should outsource all IT: Post pandemic view
  • How local governments can improve bridge projects through strategic engagement
  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk

White papers


7 Resources to Level-up Your Federal Grants Administration and Compliance

5th September 2023

Elevator Phone Line Replacement Strategy | A Guide to Reliable, Code-Compliant Solutions

29th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing Report: The Bright Future of Public Procurement

23rd August 2023
view all

Webinars


Grant Preparedness: Unlocking Funding Opportunities for Your Success

10th August 2023

2023 State of Public Sourcing: Taking Local Governments into a Bright Future

1st August 2023

Stop Playing with Fire: How to Manage Infrastructure Asset Risk So You Know You’re Covered

20th June 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: Hottest temperatures recorded in American cities during July

12th September 2023

The top 10 Asthma Capitals for 2023

7th September 2023

U.S. cities with the cleanest air from latest “State of the Air” report

5th September 2023
view all

Twitter


Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.