Improving Driver Safety with Smarter In-Cab Communication Tools

A key objective for enterprise trucking fleets is keeping drivers and trucks safe on the road. While today’s technology simplifies many aspects of our daily lives, it can also be a distraction to drivers – both in passenger vehicles and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). And while large trucks often get a bad reputation for being unsafe, recent FMCSA statistics show the critical pre-crash event for 63% of large trucks in fatal crashes involved another vehicle, person, animal, or object encroaching the truck’s lane.

This means today’s CMV drivers must be more alert while hauling loads to protect themselves and other drivers, as well as the property and materials they transport. With that in mind, modern fleets are continually adopting new communication tools and technology to keep drivers connected without being distracted. Created specifically for in-cab tablets, these tools combine features like navigation, hours of service (HOS) timers, and emergency notifications in intuitive ways that help drivers focus on their surroundings instead of their devices.

One example is Platform Science’s Driver Command Center, which delivers a full suite of software tools directly to drivers’ tablets, consolidating their apps and messages to ensure they receive only the most critical information while their wheels are in motion. This helps drivers make the most of technology that improves the efficiency of their routes without adding distractions from extra apps and communications. These include:

• Safer Truck-Specific Routes: Help your drivers avoid dangerous road conditions or backtracking through maps by providing real-time routes that meet their load’s height, weight, length, axle count, and hazmat rating.
• Prioritized Communications: Ensure drivers get the right information at the right time by having ‘urgent messages’ read aloud immediately, ‘priority messages’ saved for their next stop, or ‘normal messages’ delivered when they’re not on the road. This applies to one-to-one messages, group messages, and fleetwide messages.
• Improved Communication for Emergency Assistance: Strengthen the connection between dispatch and drivers with form messages that are easy to fill out and effective for emergency communications. These tools simplify driver requests for maintenance, emergency, and roadside assistance, making the road safer for CMV drivers, first responders, and everyone else.
• Easier Access to Important Information: Give drivers all the information they need to stay safe and compliant by sending important documents—including cab cards, yard layouts, fueling guidelines, and securing instructions for flatbed cargo—right to their tablets.
• Reduced Driver Distraction with ‘Wheels in Motion’ Screen: Safety features lock the in-cab tablet screen as soon as the truck starts moving, displaying only the most critical information (like HOS timers, navigation, and urgent notifications) until the next stop. 

Prioritizing information sent to the cab takes a heavy load off drivers by enabling them to focus on the road—and other drivers—while their wheels are in motion. This makes a big difference in completing each load safely and on time, keeping a fleet running efficiently, and helping drivers get home healthy and happy.

For more information on our in-cab communication safety features, visit platformscience.com/safety.

Ready to learn more? Schedule a call with one of our team members today.