Since the start of 2019, Bulkmatic, a dry bulk transportation provider with a service network spanning the United States and Mexico, has been spec’ing new tractor purchases with the Bendix Wingman Fusion safety system.
To date, less than one-third of the fleet is equipped, yet within the next three months, all 513 of its tractors will be warning drivers of unsafe following distances and other risky behaviors.
That’s because in the meantime, Bulkmatic also has been testing the Lytx DriveCam SF300 Event Recorders and driver safety program. The technology gives drivers real-time audible alerts by identifying risks using machine vision and artificial intelligence (MV+AI). The system also records safety-critical events.
This week, Bulkmatic began installing the Lytx platform ahead of getting the fleet outfitted with Wingman Fusion, which uses a camera, radar and integrated vehicle controls to intervene, if needed, to prevent and mitigate collisions.
Bulkmatic’s goal is to install the Lytx technology in the entire fleet by Oct. 1, said Terry McAdams, director of safety for the Griffith, Indiana-based carrier.
Bulkmatic is replacing a video-based driver safety system it has been using from SmartDrive since 2014. The system has inward- and forward-facing cameras. As configured, it captures event video and data for unsafe following distances triggered by the Wingman Fusion system, but management has to review clips with drivers when they return to terminal locations, McAdams said.
One of the standouts from testing Lytx side-by-side with the existing technology is that Lytx gives drivers a clear, audible alert if they are following too close, and its MV+AI technology also detects and alerts for distracted driving caused by cell phone use, smoking, eating, drinking and seatbelt use.
