Offers Fleets Greater Efficiency with Comprehensive Real-Time Safety and Data Reporting

Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems has announced the availability of SafetyDirect at the 2010 American Trucking Association Management Conference and Exhibition. SafetyDirect is immediately available for order for all North American commercial vehicle fleets seeking to simplify delivery of detailed trend data as well as instant notification of vehicle safety and performance.

SafetyDirect allows customers to use as a single point of access to monitor and synchronize driver performance reports on braking, stability control, following distances, collision safety system braking and lane-departure warnings for individual drivers as well as the entire fleet. The comprehensive reporting includes event location, date, time, speed, odometer reading and safety trending data.

“We are pleased to launch SafetyDirect to our North American customers. We fully expect the system to revolutionize the way fleets monitor report and capture safety data,” said Jon Morrison, president and general manager, Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems. “By integrating data from our company’s SmartTrac and OnGuard active safety systems into Iteris’ SafetyDirect and lane-departure warning systems, it’s easier for fleet managers to collect the information they need to meet and improve safety and business goals.”

SafetyDirect works by combining the technologies in Meritor WABCO’s SmartTrac and OnGuard active safety systems with their partner Iteris’ SafetyDirect, an online application for analyzing data generated by Iteris’ data logger and lane departure warning system. The SafetyDirect application uses information transmitted from the vehicle by the fleet’s onboard mobile communications system via leading telematic providers such as Qualcomm and PeopleNet.

Safety systems supported by SafetyDirect include:

SmartTrac – a suite of active safety systems that can assist the driver in maintaining control of the vehicle in response to an impending loss of directional or roll stability.

OnGuard – a forward-looking radar-based collision safety system that can detect objects in a vehicle’s path and automatically engage the throttle, engine retarder, and service brakes when it senses an impending collision thereby assisting the driver in avoiding rear end collisions.

Iteris LDW – a lane-departure warning system that uses a camera and onboard computer to track visible lane markings and detect when a vehicle drifts toward an unintended lane change.