Cogosense Blog

Cogosense's Driver Behaviour Blog

Sprint Offers FleetSafer to Help Employers Prevent Distracted Driving

This week's issue of Telematics Update explains how Sprint teamed up with Aegis Mobility to offer FleetSafer in an effort to help companies promote safe and legal use of mobile devices while employees are driving on the job.

So why does this partnership make sense?  Here five reasons:

  1. Use of a mobile device while driving causes an employee to be 23X more likely to crash and exposes his/her employer to significant risk and liability.
  2. In today's world, 80% of employers have documented policies with regard to employee use of mobile devices while driving -- but few, if any, have governance tools necessary to ensure compliance.
  3. Sprint's legacy with Nextel push-to-talk is deeply ingrained in commercial fleet operations and Sprint understands that technology will play a huge role in helping businesses foster compliance and minimize distracted driving risks.
  4. FleetSafer software supports a broad range of mobile device types including Android and BlackBerry smartphones and tablets and Kyocera feature phones which creates strong synergy with Sprint's business customer base.
  5. Sprint's ability to include FleetSafer on a customer's existing Sprint bill makes it easy for employers to say yes

Distracted driving is incredibly risky business for employees and employers alike.  Sprint, by joining forces with Aegis Mobility, is doing it's part to help businesses prevent distracted driving.

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The Auto Alliance Survey - Findings Pertinent to Distracted Driving

The Auto Alliance, the trade association for 12 automakers, has launched a project to listen to consumers.  Their first Alliance Automotive Index has a couple useful insights for technology and distracted driving.

Finding #3 – Americans’ biggest concerns about driving are gas prices and distracted drivers, but there is a generation gap on which is more worrisome.

Finding #9 – Americans want to be connected in their cars.  Almost two-thirds of smartphone users (61%) check their phone every hour during the day, and while in their cars, 90% of smartphone users keep their phone in their hand, lap, cup holder or on the passenger’s seat.

You can obtain full downloadable report through their website, and below link:

http://www.autoalliance.org/auto-marketplace/auto-index

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Distracted Driving – the New DUI

The statement “Distracted Driving is the new DUI” has been used a number of times and now, at least in the province of Saskatchewan, it seems to be the actual case according to a recent article on the number of fatalities in the province for 2012.

Read it on Global News: Global Regina | Distracted drivers outnumber impaired drivers: a first for Saskatchewan 

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Distracted Driving Reaches an Inflection Point in 2013

A market tipping point occurs when the severity of a problem and the efficacy of solutions intersect. The year 2013 will provide such a tipping point for distracted driving.

The severity of the distracted driving problem due to mobile device use has been understood for many years by research organizations, educational institutions and governmental regulators. From the Department of Transport's ban on texting and hand-held cellphone use by commercial drivers at the end of November, 2011 to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Report of March, 2012 to the 39 states that ban texting while driving and the growing list of states that ban handheld cell phone use while driving, the societal awareness of the problem is clear.
 
In aggregate, the cost due to accidents resulting from mobile device use while driving is estimated to exceed 50 billion dollars annually. Even more tragic, than the economic impact, is the fact that thousands of lives are lost each year due to mobile device related accidents.
 
So, if the problem has been well understood for some time and the economic cost is so high, why hasn't the situation improved?
 
It is not for lack of effort on the part of lawmakers but enforcing laws is very challenging. Additionally, while individuals believe that it is unsafe for others to use mobile devices while driving, they continue to use their own devices while driving. When you combine this deeply ingrained psychology with the fact that our mobile devices continue to increase in capability and usefulness, it's easy to see why the situation has become a true epidemic.  
 
Having outlined the severity of the problem, what has changed on the landscape of solutions to make 2013 such an important year?
 
There are three primary factors that drive the tipping point in 2013:
 
1. Distracted driving solutions have matured
  • Until mid-2012, there were no effective software-only solutions that provided the accuracy and battery life required for an excellent end-user experience. Technology has evolved to solve those problems and the end-user experience is now, in the words of one of our large customers, "flawless".
2. Distracted driving solutions have broadened
  • Large enterprise fleets have diverse needs with respect to vehicles, devices, work conditions and appropriate policy. Prior to 2012, there were "point solutions" available but no single portfolio that could address the full range of enterprise needs optimally. Such broad portfolios now exist.
3. Leading enterprise organizations are taking action
  • Executives, concerned about their employees' safety and their company's societal obligations, have said "enough is enough". The safety risks are clear and the ROI (Return on Investment) is compelling. The first large (multi-10Ks units) deployments are underway.
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At Aegis, we are excited to have been a market pioneer in addressing the distracted driving issue. Our mission is to make our roads safer and to support the success of our customers. We look forward to significantly advancing both of those goals in 2013!
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Even the Department of Public Safety Drives Distracted

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Talking while texting while driving... the irony is thick with this one.

--Source

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