Page 21 - ATR 6 2013 digital

in tech We trust

Fleets install automatic braking systems even though ROI hard to measure

By steve Brawner

Contributing Writer “The laws of physics exisT. we Tell The driVers,
TechNiciaNs aNd maNagemeNT up froNT, ‘iT will
Maverick Transportation Vice
President of Safety Dean Newell real- giVe you a margiN of safeTy, buT The driVer
izes he can’t measure with certainty the sTill should driVe safely, obserViNg good
return his company gets on the auto- driViNg pracTices.’”
matic braking systems now installed on
all 1,450 of his trucks. He’s still glad his
company made that choice. —T.J. Thomas, direcTor of markeTiNg aNd cusTomer
“In our gut, do we believe it works? soluTioNs, beNdix
Yes,” he said. “In our gut, do we believe
it’s a good investment? Absolutely, or
we wouldn’t continue doing it. Our
motto’s always been, ‘Do the right thing
because it’s the right thing to do.’”
Newell said the company’s DOT-
reportable accidents have decreased
since it started using Meritor WABCO’s
OnGuard system in 2008, but it’s
impossible to isolate the system as the
only cause. The system does provide
data on certain roadway events, but,
“You don’t ever know what you actually
prevented because that’s one of those
things that people just don’t talk about.
‘Hey, I almost ran over somebody but
the system worked,’” he said.
Likewise, CalArk International
began purchasing trucks with Bendix’s
Wingman Advanced system in October
and now operates about one-third of
its trucks with the technology. And like
Newell, Safety Director Malea Hare
said she can’t exactly verify the return.
However, she said, “If I can avoid one
crash, all the extra money that was put
into those tractors is more than a good
investment.”
The technology costs thousands
of dollars per tractor, but motor carri-
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arkaNsas TruckiNg reporT | issue 6 2013 21