National Retail Systems Inc. (NRS), a provider of logistics services to U.S. retailers, pharmaceutical companies and consumer goods manufacturers, has launched a safety program to install the GreenRoad 360 driving decision support service in trucks throughout the United States. The program will start in the Northeast U.S. and expand across the country next year.
GreenRoad's patented technology measures G-forces impacting NRS trucks as they are driven on the road. It uses sensor-based technology to measure and analyze, in real-time, over 120 maneuvers in five categories: speed handling, cornering, lane handling, braking, and acceleration. The system also captures compound maneuvers, which combine multiple maneuver types and represent the greatest risk and cost to a fleet. The service also provides reports and analysis to drivers and fleet managers through a secure website to evaluate overall driving risk and skills.
The GreenRoad implementation will help NRS to maintain compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) program. FMCSA has been performing CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) assessments of commercial freight carriers since the beginning of 2010 and recently made the results of those assessments privately available. NRS was found to be compliant in all areas.
CSA 2010 is a FMCSA initiative to improve large truck and bus safety, with the goal of reducing commercial motor vehicle-related crashes, injuries and fatalities. The CSA BASICs analysis is based on roadside data, investigation findings and includes a review of the following seven categories: unsafe driving, fatigued driving (Hours-of-Service), driver fitness, controlled substances/alcohol, vehicle maintenance, cargo-related and crash indicator.
Violations like speeding, reckless driving and crashes have especially high severity weightings in the CSA 2010 scoring model. GreenRoad will help NRS drivers to improve and maintain high scores by changing driving behavior through real-time, in-vehicle feedback.