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ate vicinity, day or night. By being able looking for influential thought lead-
to anticipate what’s coming into their ers familiar with testing technology.
area, they can more easily judge which After seeing the technology in action,
lane to move into and avoid obstacles the former CEO of a major U.S. fleet
coming their way. Drivers can time introduced Stoneridge to J.B. Hunt and “THE DEAL WAS, WE
their moves and know how much they Maverick. HAD TO GIVE HONEST
can move into and out of their lane. Dean Newell, vice president
According to Fox, “Drivers are experts of safety and training at Maverick FEEDBACK. …DURING
in driving their vehicles, but if they Transportation, says Maverick ran about THE FIRST COUPLE OF
don’t have all the information, they 600,000 miles with MirrorEye during CALLS WITH DRIVERS, I
can’t make those decisions as effec- their pilot. When they first brought a
tively.” Though the features and benefits truck in to let Newell look at it, the sys- SAID TO ONE, ‘YOU’VE
offered by the current MirrorEye system tem wowed him. “The deal was, we had GOT TO SAY SOMETHING
can’t yet be directly integrated with to give honest feedback. They don’t fog BAD.’ HE SAID, ‘THERE’S
outside collision mitigation systems, up, ice up, or rain up. They never show NOTHING TO SAY BAD!’
Fox says, for today, it’s about giving the water spots. Brightness and contrast is
driver the right information to make just awesome. During the first couple of ONCE YOU GET USED
better decisions. calls with drivers, I said to one, ‘You’ve TO IT, IT CAN BE HARD
When asked what challenges got to say something bad.’ He said, TO GO BACK.”
MirrorEye found drivers encountered ‘There’s nothing to say bad!’ Once you
during trials, the response was practical- get used to it, it can be hard to go back.”
ly insignificant: When drivers are back- —DEAN NEWELL, VICE
ing, they often adjust their body position GETTING AN EXEMPTION PRESIDENT OF SAFETY AND
to get a sense of depth perception. But in Mirrors are still required on motor- TRAINING AT MAVERICK
the case of MirrorEye, drivers are navi- ing vehicles — unless they’re using the TRANSPORTATION
gating via an image, so it doesn’t matter FMCSA-exempt MirrorEye system.
where their body is. That minor struggle Stoneridge was invited to Washington
actually helped Stoneridge decide to D.C., where they were able to provide a
develop an additional feature — distance demo to FMCSA and NTSA. Fox said the
lines that give a point of reference for team found difficult-to-navigate areas vehicle, and what type of cargo is being
where the end of the trailer is. That in town—easy to do in the congested hauled, fuel economy tests have so far
feature will also be useful in merger city—and the passengers were able to see shown a 2.5% fuel savings.
operations. One driver also noted that the crystal-clear images being displayed
when reversing into an enclosed bay, a in the cab. During that demonstration, SAFETY
typically difficult-to-navigate situation, Fox parked his personal vehicle in front Though saving money may be
he manually enabled the camera’s night of the Department of Transportation. what makes fleets take a first look at
vision, which created a much easier-to- There wasn’t much maneuverability, but MirrorEye, it’s safety that will make
manage backing situation. the truck driver decided to park next them take the second look. If fleets are
Fox notes that their trials, which to Fox anyway. The truck driver missed really in touch with data, Fox says, they
have been going on for two and a half his SUV by inches, because he could see can say where they have a problem and
years, have been made up of a wide everything. “I saw the gentleman from where they could use help. The message
range of driver types. “It’s up to the NTSA with his mouth hanging open. to the larger fleet market is, you can do
fleet [to decide] who they want to test It was an ah-ha moment — this is why something to improve safety today. “We
this, but we’ve gotten young and old, you deploy technology, because you can have a fleet that has said, ‘We can put
we’ve gotten luddites and people who make better decisions.” After public this on every one of our trucks, and we’ll
love technology. We want to understand comment, Stoneridge was granted a five- get a payback on that investment.’”
what they don’t like, so we’ve been for- year exemption. Newell says the benefit of this
tunate in getting quality feedback.” That exemption also allows fleets product is safety. “If I can give the driv-
to remove their traditional mirrors if er more tools to be safer for themselves
ARKANSAS TESTED they so desire, to get the full effect of and their families, it’s the right thing
After testing the technology for MirrorEye, including the benefits of to do. It’s always been our culture here.
about six months in Europe, Stoneridge fuel savings. While fuel savings will of I’m all about saving fuel, but I’m more
was ready to test MirrorEye in the course depend on how the fleet is con- about increasing safety for the motoring
United States. Fox says Stoneridge was figured, how each driver operates their public.” ATR

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