Opinion: Road Safety Week - why we need to get ahead of risk

By Damian Penney, vice president EMEA at Lytx 

Every day, companies send their most valuable assets into the world – their people. 

Protecting drivers and finding ways to make roads and vehicles safer continues to be the highest priority for our industry. This is especially poignant as we mark the start of Road Safety Week, hosted by road safety charity Brake. 

This year’s event puts victims at the heart of the campaign and will celebrate the brilliant individuals who support families after a road death or serious injury. 

At Lytx, our vision is a world where every journey ends with a safe return. Initiatives like Road Safety Week are vital in forcing us to stop and think about these safety issues but it’s important that we keep the discussion going – especially as we work to reduce the number of accidents happening in the first place.  

Data from the European Transport Safety Council shows that the EU experienced 46 road deaths per million inhabitants during 2023. 

While this reflects a 1% decrease in the number of road deaths compared to the previous year, it is still 46 deaths too many. We need to look at how we can prevent accidents altogether.  

Empowering drivers 

As helpful as analysis can be after an event, being able to make good decisions in real time is even better. 

One of the ways this can be achieved is through video safety technology that utilises machine vision (MV) and artificial intelligence (AI). 

This intelligent video provides insight into repeated risky driving habits, allowing training to be focused on areas of need, and can also issue warnings directly to drivers so that that they can self-correct in real time. 

The technology uses information from several sensors at once to detect whether a driver is engaging in a distracted driving behaviour. 

If the driver is using a mobile phone behind the wheel, for example, audible and visual alerts will be emitted which warns the driver to self-correct in the moment. 

Placing this technology directly in the hands of the driver means they can get ahead of risk and make good decisions earlier that help them, and other road users, to stay safe.  

Insights that paint a real picture of risk 

As well as acting in the moment, this same technology can be used to see the bigger picture and identify trends or patterns over time. 

For example, managers may have an instance where there is a particular stretch of road where drivers are at a higher risk of failing to click their seatbelt after returning to the vehicle. 

Managers can be alerted to this behaviour and dig deeper to understand what’s happening. Subsequent conversations may reveal that time-sensitive parking on that particular road is causing a rushed behaviour where drivers are more likely to forget to click their seatbelt straight away. 

When managers are armed with these insights, they can work closely with drivers to address any risky behaviours, as well as delivering better, more informed coaching. 

Collaboration for the greater good  

If we are to dramatically reduce the number of casualties on the road, then we also need to give thought to how the commercial fleet industry can collaborate and share data for the greater good.

For example, shared access to external vehicle cameras, or even images from static CCTV, could provide drivers and fleet managers with invaluable information about events that may impact their journey. 

Much as we use navigation apps to receive live traffic updates in our personal lives, this would allow commercial drivers to communicate information about incidents such as flooded roads or debris. 

By harnessing technology and collaborating to share information, we can move faster to get that fatality figure to zero.