What Is a Driver Monitoring System? - Powerful Driver Safety

Whether you have a big, medium, or small-sized business, your drivers play a crucial role in its success. Is their safety on the road a priority for you? Do you have a system in place to monitor and protect them? 

There’s one simple system to enhance driver safety for good. Let’s unpack it right here.

In this article, you will:

• Gain a good understanding of what a driver monitoring system is

• Learn exactly how driver monitoring systems work

• Find out why it is so important to prioritise your drivers’ safety

• Discover how Cartrack Zimbabwe is the solution for all your driver safety challenges

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What Is a Driver Monitoring System?

Driver monitoring systems (DMS) are cutting-edge vehicle safety systems that monitor driver safety. As an important part of the Advanced Driver Safety System (ADAS), this system works to continuously assess and analyse driver behaviour, actions, and their overall state while they're behind the wheel. To achieve this, the systems make use of cameras, sensors, and sophisticated algorithms. This enables them to play a crucial role in the prevention of distractions and potential road accidents, which can be costly for businesses. 

In a country where it is estimated that around 25% of road crashes are caused by the use of mobile phones while driving, it is vital that businesses incorporate an effective driver monitoring system. 

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How Do Driver Monitoring Systems Work?

Driver monitoring systems are quite complex, using a variety of components to monitor driver behaviour. These components include:

• Cameras: Cameras are the key component of driver monitoring systems. Usually mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle, they monitor the driver’s behaviour and alert them when signs of distraction, drowsiness, or impairment are detected. 
• GPS Vehicle Tracking: This helps you keep an eye on your vehicles and ensure that drivers are using the safest predetermined routes. 
• Driver Scorecards: Driver scorecards provide driver ratings by monitoring high-risk behaviour.

These components work together to provide you with an effective driver monitoring system, which we unpack in more detail below.

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Cracking The Code of An Effective Driver Monitoring System

The technology that the system makes use of is responsible for creating a baseline of normal driver behaviour and ensuring that there are no deviations from it. Once the software picks up on any deviations (which include drowsiness, impaired driving, or distracted driving) from this normal behaviour, a real-time warning is issued. This warning is usually issued in the form of audible alerts and informs drivers of what behaviour has been detected. This allows your drivers to correct their behaviour in real time, lowering the risk of road accidents, and promoting safety.

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The Importance of Having a Driver Management System for Driver Safety

Driver monitoring systems improve driver safety through the monitoring of driver attention and alertness while driving. By keeping a constant eye on driver behaviour, it plays a vital role in:

• Reducing distracted driving:

  Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of road accidents, accounting for about 2.5 million accidents worldwide every year. Driver management systems can detect signs of distraction, such as the driver’s eyes looking away from the road
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• Spotting fatigued driving:

  According to the South African Road Foundation (SARF), the risk of road accidents occurring increases by 8.3% when a driver is fatigued. Driver management systems can detect signs of fatigued driving, which lets your drivers know that they may need to take a break.

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How Can Cartrack Zimbabwe Help You Supercharge Your Driver Safety?

Whether you’re running a small business with one vehicle or a large-scale business with a massive fleet, Cartrack Zimbabwe can cater to your individual needs and elevate your driver safety with the following driver monitoring solutions.

1. ADAS

   Standing for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, ADAS aims to lower the risk of accidents and enhance driver safety by heightening your drivers’ awareness of their surroundings. This is done by alerting them to potential road hazards, detecting and responding to obstacles, and helping your drivers maintain a safe distance from other vehicles.

   All of this is done by making use of camera-based sensors, intelligent algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI). ADAS provides driver assistance features that work to enhance driver safety. These include:

   - Data Processing

   - Driver Assistance Features, including:

   Forward Collision Warning: Alerts drivers when their vehicle is approaching another vehicle or obstacle too quickly, helping them prevent rear-end collisions.

   Blind-Spot Detection: Alerts drivers of vehicles in blind spots, helping them reduce the risk of lane-changing accidents.

   Automatic Emergency Braking: Identifies potential collisions and results in the vehicle automatically engaging the brakes to either minimise the impact or prevent a collision entirely.
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2. Live Vision AI Cameras

   Unlock AI-powered, live-streaming technology that gives you 24-hour visual access to your vehicles with our Live Vision AI cameras.

   This is a cloud-connected video management solution that makes use of in-cabin cameras and uses AI analysis to give you access to driver behaviour monitoring and real-time alerts. This technology can detect various forms of distracted or dangerous driving, including:

   - Speeding
   - Yawning
   - Cell phone use
   - Smoking

   When these behaviours are detected, in-cabin audible alerts immediately notify your drivers, allowing them to correct their actions in real time and prevent potential accidents. Fleet managers can also receive real-time alerts and access the footage via a livestream feed, which helps ensure that preventative action is immediately implemented. An example of this is a front collision warning, which alerts drivers when they drive dangerously close to the vehicle in front of them. This ensures that they increase their following distance, preventing a potential accident.
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3. Driver Scorecards

   This is another feature that helps you monitor driver behaviour, and improve safety. Our driver scorecards rate each driver based on how safely they drive. This is done by monitoring high-risk behaviour such as:

   - Excessive speeding
   - Reckless acceleration
   - Harsh braking
   - Long idling

   These scorecards give you detailed insights into driver performance and help you spot which areas require improvements to ensure driver safety.

   By making use of these solutions, you gain access to a more comprehensive, proactive approach to driver safety. You can protect your drivers from external risks while also working to ensure they don’t pose a risk to themselves through various forms of distracted driving.

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The Benefits of Prioritising Driver Safety for Your Business

The benefits of driver safety go beyond your drivers, reaching into the overall functioning of your business. These include:

• Reduced risk of accidents and injuries: While this may seem pretty obvious, this directly means less money needs to be spent on repairs, insurance, and downtime.
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• Improved productivity: Fewer accidents lead to a decrease in downtime, meaning more tasks can be completed with little to no delays. This leads to increased customer satisfaction, which positively impacts the business's public image. 
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• Improved employee morale: Making driver safety a priority shows your employees that you care about them and their general well-being. This leads to an increase in employee productivity, loyalty, and retention. 
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• Improved fuel efficiency: Safe driving practices have been shown to help lower fuel consumption by up to 20%. With the everchanging prices of fuel, this can be a massive burden lifted off your shoulders.

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Monitor and Improve Driver Safety, Anywhere, Anytime

We live in such a fast-paced, technologically driven world. This makes it important to have eyes on your vehicles and driver behaviour at all times. 

Regardless of how many vehicles you have, this can be a bit of a challenge. But worry not, because Cartrack Zimbabwe has the solution. Cartrack’s solutions enable you to detect high-risk driving behaviour in real time, giving you access to live-streamed footage for any active vehicle via our mobile app. 

This equips you with around-the-clock access to your drivers and their on-the-road behaviour, all from your smartphone. You are also able to view recorded footage of your drivers and use this to train them on where improvements need to be made to increase their safety on the road.

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Rev Up Your Driver’s Safety Today, With Cartrack Zimbabwe

Are you ready to take driver safety to the next level? Then join over 1.8 million subscribers who trust Cartrack Zimbabwe with their vehicle's safety. Big or small, our goal is to provide you with the tools you need to elevate your business operations, one safe driver at a time. 

‍Contact Cartrack Zimbabwe, and welcome unparalleled safety.