In Tech We Trust Fleets install automatic braking systems even though ROI hard to measure
By Steve Brawner Contributing Writer
Maverick Transportation Vice
President of Safety Dean Newell real- izes he can’t measure with certainty the return his company gets on the auto- matic braking systems now installed on all 1,450 of his trucks. He’s still glad his company made that choice. “In our gut, do we believe it works?
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- ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2013 21
“THE LAWS OF PHYSICS EXIST. WE TELL THE DRIVERS, TECHNICIANS AND MANAGEMENT UP FRONT, ‘IT WILL GIVE YOU A MARGIN OF SAFETY, BUT THE DRIVER STILL SHOULD DRIVE SAFELY, OBSERVING GOOD DRIVING PRACTICES.’”
—T.J. THOMAS, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS, BENDIX
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