GreenRoad Technologies, a UK specialist in driver safety technologies, reports t ...

GreenRoad Technologies, a UK specialist in driver safety technologies, reports that Derby Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council have signed agreements with the company to install ‘Safety Center’ in council and ‘grey’ fleet vehicles. These councils join Adur and Worthing Council Services, which has installed Safety Center in its fleet of refuse and recycling vehicles, and Staffordshire Council, which is installing the device in local teens’ cars to improve road safety. St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk is starting a pilot scheme by installing GreenRoad Safety Center in 20 fleet vehicles including cars, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and refuse vehicles. ‘As well as our project with GreenRoad, we are working with the Energy Savings Trust to conduct a green fleet review; we are also developing a green travel plan for the entire authority,’ said Phil Clifford, Fleet Manager, St Edmundsbury Borough Council. ‘While road safety is important, GreenRoad will also help us reduce fuel consumption, costs and carbon emissions… If successful, we would hope to roll out Safety Center across our entire fleet of 140 council vehicles, as well our leased and pool cars.’ Derby City Council is installing GreenRoad Safety Center across its fleet, starting with 10 vehicles in its highway maintenance and parks departments and potentially reaching all 200 vehicles in the council fleet. Derby City Council would also like to deploy Safety Center in the council’s grey fleet of employees who use their personal cars for business travel. ‘We plan to offer council employees a reduction in their insurance premiums if they install Safety Center in their own cars,’ said Aidan Ryrie, Derby City Council’s Road Safety Team Leader. ‘It’s not just the council who will benefit from the introduction of GreenRoad. We are partnering with local employers to encourage them to use GreenRoad Safety Center and adopt a culture of road safety for the benefit of our entire community. We feel it is imperative that we do everything we can to reduce our risk of crashes and casualties.’ Safety Center rates driving skills without invading the driver’s privacy or tracking their location. An in-vehicle sensor collects information on more than 120 different driving manoeuvres. These are constantly analysed to give the driver feedback about their driving and the areas that need improvement. Individual drivers receive instant feedback from a small display on the dashboard. The driver and the fleet manager have access to more detailed analysis of driving skills and recommendations for improvement through a password-protected website. GreenRoad reports that its clients have reduced accidents by an average of 54% and lowered accident costs by an average of 65%.