Understanding Harsh Events and how they impact your fleet.

Do you ever wonder how the GPS in your car can tell if you performed a harsh event such as harsh braking, harsh cornering, or harsh acceleration? When a vehicle is equipped with a telematics device such as Geotab, the device, when installed properly can determine harsh driving events by measuring the acceleration or G-force. G-force is a measure of acceleration that we feel due to gravity. The acceleration of gravity is 9.806 m/s2 or 32.1740 f/s2.

Using this formulation with a rule in Geotab can calculate a harsh event by measuring the G-force of the vehicle by an accelerometer. Collisions can also be detected using a calculation of events triggered greater than or equal to 2.5G. This method takes the magnitude between Forward/Braking and Side to Side activity of the unit to determine where the G-force was greater than 2.5G and indicate an accident occurred. Geotab’s intelligent system would allow immediate notification to a manager that this event occurred, allowing a manager to check on the driver and ensure they were okay or allow them to call for help.

Harsh acceleration, or “lead foot”, can be costly and is one of the top indicators of unsafe driving. Studies show that drivers who have multiple instances of harsh driving events are more likely to have an accident than someone who does not. Speeding can reduce a vehicles fuel economy by 33% which also impacts the bottom line.

Harsh braking can not only cause a vehicle’s brakes to overheat, and damage brake pads, but it can also trigger a vehicles ABS system unnecessarily increasing wear and tear.

Geotab’s amazing Ecosystem offers free tools in their Marketplace to allow companies to take control of these events by utilizing a free Driver’s Safety Scorecard and many other tools to track driver’s driving habits such as harsh cornering, harsh acceleration, and harsh braking. It can also trash driver’s not using their seat belt and much more. Geotab’s “Driver Safety Scorecard”, may also be used with some insurance companies to save on premiums, but more importantly allows companies to see who is at risk of an accident by calculating the occurrences of harsh events to allow for training, and counseling.

Regardless of the size of your fleet, Geotab makes tracking those harsh events, easy. If you would like more information on Geotab or a FREE pilot to show you what Geotab can do for you, send me a message, or contact us using the form below.