Telematics provider Blue Tree Systems released a feature that analyzes drivers’ braking habits on Brake Safety Day, an event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
“Anticipation” measures the gap between a driver’s release of the accelerator pedal and application of the brakes, Blue Tree said in a statement released Sept. 7, also Brake Safety Day.
A small gap in time indicates sudden, reactive braking, whereas a longer stretch means the driver has planned for the stop, which decreases wear and tear on brakes, the company said. Longer gaps also are consistent with better fuel economy.
Blue Tree’s U.S. operations are in Greensboro, N.C., and its global headquarters is in Galway, Ireland.
CVSA is a trade group representing U.S., Canadian and Mexican law-enforcement agencies, mainly state and provincial, that inspect trucks and buses on the road. The inspectors use Brake Safety Day to heighten awareness of the need for proper maintenance for brakes.
The information recorded by the telematics system can be analyzed by fleet management.
“One of Blue Tree’s goals in introducing this new Anticipation feature is the same as the goal of Brake Safety Day: to reduce the number of crashes involving commercial vehicles,” said Mark Whitney, Blue Tree’s head of product development.
“We are confident that this new measure — together with our other brake-related measurements, such as brake presses per 100 miles, high-speed brake presses, short brake presses and coasting percentages — can lead to significant improvements for truck fleets in safety, mpg and maintenance costs,” Whitney said.
