Driver monitoring systems put truckers’ privacy at risk; cameras outside the vehicle enhance safety and mitigate concern
“A camera facing the driver, inside a truck, controlled by somebody else… you may not even know…this is a terrible business move. If the truck I’m in ever gets a camera installed in it facing me…inside… this home where I live, I will stop the truck and quit on the spot,” says YouTuber Josh VLOGS. Comments on the video — largely from fellow drivers — are in agreement with Josh VLOGS, who speaks to an audience of over 100,000 truckers and has over 37 million views on videos uploaded to his channel. These concerns have been raised globally: in Australia, another trucker recently voiced his thoughts on how DMS cameras could potentially record phone conversations that threaten driver privacy.
Is this feedback unfair? Many in industry say so. Firstly, some driver monitoring solutions (DMS) are only triggered by “strong g-force events”, or when the vehicle is moving. Even more to the point, many DMS providers have clarified that they don’t film the drivers in the traditional sense. Infrared lights track eye movement, and data is stored with heavy encryption and deleted unless it tracks a specific fatigue event. A recent report by the National Vehicle Heavy Regulator (NVHR) association has classified DMS technology as an essential component to driver safety that provably reduces the probability of fatigue-related incidents. And, despite their best efforts, use of camera monitoring systems are entirely legal and GDPR compliant, provided the supplier clearly labels the dashboard with a notification that occupants are being filmed and clarifies what the data is used for, either verbally or through use of a policy sheet.
Although the boxes are checked from a safety, compliance and data privacy perspective, concerns still remain among drivers and trucking continues to cause on-road accidents year-on-year. The European Traffic Safety Council recorded 3310 pedestrian deaths in collisions with Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in 2019, and noted that the trend of vulnerable road user (VRU) fatalities is declining more slowly than any other on-road risk.
What if industry could solve driver privacy concerns and make trucks even safer than DMS alone?
While driver monitoring solutions can monitor fatigue and distraction events inside the vehicle, predictive AI can tackle challenges outside the vehicle. Predictive AI has proven incredibly beneficial to fleet operators; with advanced perception capabilities that enable near-miss and blind spot detection, forward collision warning, enable decision making for driver intervention technologies and can capture footage of incidents outside the vehicle for post incident analysis and insurance purposes. Complementing DMS with predictive AI is a significant move for reducing human error across the transportation sector, improving safety significantly for the benefit of drivers and pedestrians alike.
Considering that truck drivers consistently cite their blind spot as the biggest risk to safety, active safety measures like that provided by predictive AI can trigger driver alerts about these blind spots, leading to a potential vulnerable road user, fatality reduction of 1.53% compared to only 0.95% in vehicles without the use of predictive AI. In cases like these, it’s clear that artificial intelligence solutions provide safety even more effectively than that of driver monitoring systems alone.
Fleet owners recognise the value of predictive AI solutions
Industry recognises the value predictive AI can bring to fleet safety. London FreightLab, an initiative by Transport for London to tackle congestion, has recently partnered with London-based start up Humanising Autonomy to introduce these solutions to their freight partners. Through the collaboration to create safer roads, fleet operators CEVA Logistics, DPD, GNEWT, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, John Lewis Partnership, Plexal, REEF Technology, Royal Mail, Thames Water and UPS now have access to the cutting edge technology — and have the option to reduce accidents involving VRUs, liability costs through accident prevention and comply with safety regulations for commercial vehicles in the process.
The importance of vulnerable road user safety is recognised globally by municipalities and fleet owners alike. New York City’s Vision Zero goal of no pedestrian deaths or incidents by 2024 is supported by a number of fleet owners, including Anheuser Busch, who has pledged support of the City of New York’s Connected Vehicle Pilot. Anheuser-Busch is equipping its local fleet with connected vehicle technology to test driver alerts and other safety measures, and will use wireless communications technology in vehicles and on infrastructure to alert drivers to roadway hazards that help them avoid collisions.
Additionally, Humanising Autonomy has partnered with Arriva and Transport for London as a part of the Bus Safety Standard, a critical part of London’s efforts to achieve their Vision Zero by 2041 goal. London is one of the most challenging cities to navigate from a pedestrian perspective, with jaywalking and unpredictable behaviour regular occurrences. The trial partnership focuses on the intent prediction of those pedestrians, leveraging the largest publicly available dataset of human behaviours to inform forward collision warning alerts for driver safety.
Two is better than one
By using both solutions, truckers are equipped to operate vehicles with unprecedented levels of safety. Added levels of perception from Humanising Autonomy’s intent prediction software speaks to truckers’ needs — such as accurate blind spot detection and forward collision warning — and enhances pre-existing driver monitoring and alert systems. Both solutions together lessen the reliance on driver monitoring, alleviating truckers’ concerns about invasion of privacy. As human intent prediction models become more advanced, the possibilities are endless. Driver intent prediction may soon be able to enable suggestions with the safest course of action, potentially eliminating the need for DMS all together.
The industry sees real value in predictive AI, as evidenced by the partnerships with London Freight Lab, Arriva and Transport for London’s Bus Safety Standard. The vision-based behaviour prediction technology will undoubtedly improve fleet safety, enable better hazard perception of VRUs to inform the human driver, and help reduce collisions overall. When combined with pre-existing driver monitoring solutions, fleet safety has never been more achievable.
