Before COVID-19, drivers were used to clogged highways, stopped vehicles and rush-hour traffic around big cities. But, with many people working from home, there are less commuters and far less vehicles on the road. In fact, a recent study reported a 30% drop in the number of vehicles on the road compared to the same day of the week as the month prior.

But less traffic doesn’t necessarily mean safer roads. For instance, the California Highway Patrol is seeing a drastic increase in speeding and issuing many more tickets. For a one-month period starting March 19, when the stay-at-home order started, officers have issued 87% more citations to drivers suspected of going more than 100 mph. That number is compared to the same time period last year. The spike coincides with a 35% decline in traffic volume on state roads compared to 2019.

Improve Safety and Reduce Risk with ADAS

Unfortunately, higher speeds can lead to many more serious injuries and significantly increase the chance of death should a crash occur. One way to improve unsafe driving is with an Advanced Driver-Assistance System (ADAS). Designed to identify and combat some of the most dangerous driving risks, and intervene with drivers before a collision occurs, SmartSense™ for ADAS uses a computer vision-enhanced camera to enable real-time driver risk mitigation for short following, forward collision, lane departure and speeding.

With less traffic, higher speeds and more opportunities for collisions, it’s important that you know when:

• Your driver is at high risk of getting into a collision with other vehicles
• The vehicle unintentionally drifts from its lane
• The distance from the vehicle ahead is less than 1.5 seconds

SmartSense for ADAS provides in-cab alerts triggered by SmartDrive’s CV-enhanced camera to help drivers avoid collisions in real-time. And, because of these progressive audio and visual alerts – delivered based on moderate and severe identified risk – drivers can engage in self-coaching and, ultimately, experience a reduction in collisions.

By helping drivers be aware of their driving habits now – while there are less drivers on the road – you’re more likely to avoid a collision when “normal” returns. In whatever form it takes.

See ADAS in action by requesting a quick demo. Learn how the powerful combination of ADAS and video safety can reduce risk and improve safety throughout your fleet.

Coming up in next week’s blog post: Ensuring Safety with Work Rules Suspended.

Click here to read:

The New Normal Part 1 – Open Communication and Consistent Coaching
The New Normal Part 2 – Eliminating Visual, Physical & Cognitive Distractions