GRAPEVINE, TX — Wabco and SmartDrive Systems announced they’re partnering up to allow Wabco to expand its fleet management solutions to commercial vehicle fleets in North America.

According to Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive Systems, the alliance will allow Wabco’s active safety systems to tie into SmartDrive’s open fleet management platform.

“The integration of comprehensive real-time data gathered from WABCO’s data-rich onboard advanced braking, stability control and efficiency systems – together with SmartDrive Systems’ video-based driver performance management systems and data analytics services – will create significant value for fleet customers,” said Nik Varty, president of WABCO Americas. “This alliance offers fleet owners and operators an avenue to reduce fuel consumption, improve operational productivity, and further increase vehicle safety.”

The integration of the two systems “makes sure our cameras go on” whenever there is an alert from WABCO’s lane-departure, collision-avoidance or rollover system.

Wabco Holdings is a supplier of active safety systems such as collision-avoidance and stability control, and SmartDrive Systems offers an in-cab recording device for the trucking industry.

Mitgang noted that the SmartDrive camera may not react to a subtle shift in G-forces that Wabco’s stability control system picks up. Combining the two systems allow fleets to know which drivers may routinely go into corners too fast. Once identified, these drivers can be given additional coaching on safe driving habits.

“Commercial vehicle fleet operators are struggling to gain value from the significant volumes of data generated by their on-board safety technologies – it’s often fragmented and difficult to access quickly when safety-related events occur,” Mitgang said. “By taking advantage of SmartDrive’s open-platform approach and the solutions we will deliver through this alliance, we will provide a unified view of driving information that measures the broadest spectrum of risk. This will enable fleets to quickly understand the nature and potential root cause of their exposure and measurably reduce that risk over time.”

“Data has a shelf life,” Mitgang added. “Our goal is to get data into the hands of the fleets as fast as possible.”

Other developments with SmartDrive’s safety system include the ability of the system to activate whenever a truck makes a U-turn, which typically indicates the driver is lost or missed a turn. By activating the systems video function, a fleet manager can see what the driver was doing just before the U-turn.

SmartDrive’s system now also features a dynamic recording range – meaning that the length of recording can be changed dynamically depending on the event. Typically, the system would record 15 seconds before and 15 seconds after an alert. But by integrating with an active safety system such as collision avoidance, once an alert is issued to the driver that he is following too close, the system can record a longer period – enabling fleets to identify what the driver was doing before the driving to close alert sounded.