Illuminating Driver Safety

Ofer Raz was nearly run off of the road by a careless driver in 2003. The frightening experience inspired Raz to think critically about driving and the risky maneuvers that lead to crashes. Could the other driver’s recklessness have been prevented? Could technology be used to help drivers identify and curb their risky behaviors behind the wheel?

These and similar questions kept running through Raz’s mind in the days and weeks that followed. Further study revealed to him that, although billions of dollars were being invested in building safer roads and vehicles, virtually nothing was being done to address driving behavior or to model how specific maneuvers correlate to the risk of crashes.

At the time, Raz was director of product development for a real-time data mining company. He partnered with Hod Fleishman, whom he knew from product design school. Together, along with the help of several researchers, the two men de- veloped new technology intended to improve driving behavior.

Raz and Fleishman had to rely on their instincts, since research on this type of technology did not yet exist. They decided to develop a non-intrusive, in-vehicle light system that would provide drivers with real-time feedback on their performance so that drivers could identify and improve their behaviors immediately. This immediate feedback would also allow drivers to make the crucial connection between their actions and the consequences of those actions. Raz and Fleishman believed lights, rather than audio cues, would provide a “soft” reminder to drivers that they were demonstrating risky behaviors. They reasoned that lights would be unobtrusive, and thus they would not be potentially alarming or distracting to drivers.

CHANGING BEHAVIOURS

Raz and Fleishman knew from existing research into the best ways to manage behavioral change — any type of behaviours, not just those exhibited behind the wheel — that providing even minimal feedback immediately is far more effective at changing behavior than providing sophisticated feedback after a delay. Consequently, Raz and Fleishman decided against using in-vehicle cameras: these devices would not provide the real-time feedback they sought, and drivers would perceive them as too intrusive, they concluded. Also, they believed such cameras would be cost-prohibitive. Money would be required to pay for streaming video from the vehicle to a central location, and also to pay the personnel needed to review, score and otherwise quantify the footage.

At the end of the day, Raz and Fleishman wanted the new technology to be simple, affordable and effective. They did not want drivers to view the technology as something monitoring or spying on them in their vehicles, something to be used solely for punitive measures. Rather, they wanted technology that drivers would view as a tool to help them improve their driving. They wanted to empower drivers to improve their driving behavior for increased safety and driving efficiency. “We wanted to provide feedback to the driver, not collect ‘incriminating evidence’ about the errors they made while driving,” Fleishman says. “We believe most drivers don’t intend to drive aggressively. They may be distracted or angry or in a rush, but often a simple reminder is all they need in order to begin driving safely again.”

As a result of their research, Raz and Fleishman created a preventive, red-yellow-green light display used by more than 80 vehicle fleets worldwide. They also developed algorithms to associate risk with vehicle movement. These same algorithms can be used to model how specific maneuvers contribute to the risk of crashes. Combined with in-vehicle sensors that measure up to 120 different risky driving maneuvers, Raz and Fleishman found they could identify and analyze those maneuvers that most affect safe and fuel-efficient driving — and deliver driver-specific feedback accordingly. Raz and Fleishman named their new company and its flagship technology-based service DriveDiagnostics — a name that would later be changed to GreenRoad.

Raz and Fleishman conducted extensive internal and third-party validation testing for both commercial and consumer use between 2004 and 2006. By the end of this testing, the service had been used in more than 1 million driver trips. The multi-billion-dollar commercial fleet industry recognized its potential not only to cut crash numbers and costs, but also to lower fuel costs because safer driving equates to more efficient driving. Insurance trials began.

GREENROAD 360

In 2007, GreenRoad launched a service that would later become known as GreenRoad 360.The service is intended to help commercial fleets, insurers and consumers measure, improve and sustain safe and fuel-efficient driving behavior. Real-time in-vehicle feedback is delivered via a simple, non-distracting red-yellow-green LED display that enables drivers to identify and self-correct risky and inefficient driving maneuvers in the moment. Fleet management and risk-and-safety professionals gain complete visibility into driving behavior; they now have easy-to-use tools to help drivers achieve specific safety and fuel-efficiency goals.

Designed to be easy to implement and use, GreenRoad’s service is nevertheless highly advanced. It is able, for example, to capture complex maneuvers such as accelerating into a turn while crossing over a lane. Other solutions only register one-dimensional violations such as crossing into another lane. That is a critical oversight, because risky maneuvers are often the result of more than one behavior. GreenRoad’s service is the first in the industry to provide total visibility into driving behavior, combining real-time, automated driver coaching with a Web-based application that continuously analyzes and rates individual driver and fleet-wide driving behavior. GreenRoad enables fleet management, risk and safety professionals and drivers to measure what is happening every minute of every driving hour. It provides details of all of the risky events that happen during any given driving trip — not just those caught on camera or witnessed by a supervisor on a ride-along.

More than 80 fleets are currently using GreenRoad’s service, representing industries ranging from trucking, public transit and telecommunications to service delivery and public safety. Customers include Ryder, which has deployed the service in more than 50 depots, and the United Kingdom’s ministry of defence, which will use the GreenRoad service in more than 4,500 vehicles for the next three years. In addition, FirstGroup, the world’s largest bus company, signed a five-year contract to deploy GreenRoad’s service across its fleet of 9,000 buses in the United Kingdom, with the launch of its DriveGreen program in August 2009.

Fleets using GreenRoad’s service have reported reducing crashes by up to 50% and cutting fuel usage by up to 10%. Due to the service’s aid in helping to identify and manage risk, GreenRoad has formed several strategic alliances with some of the world’s insurance industry leaders in brokerage and underwriting. GreenRoad anticipates announcing insurance partnerships in Canada in the coming months.

Raz and Fleishman remain actively involved in GreenRoad today. They still share a passion for helping drivers become safer and more efficient behind the wheel. Raz serves as the chief technology officer. Fleishman is the company’s chief of safety, and leads partnership development in addition to serving on the board of directors. Together, they have created a technology-based service that responds to the global challenge of unsafe and inefficient driving.

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GreenRoad’s service is able to capture complex maneuvers such as accelerating into a turn while crossing over a lane.