Driver Training

In the beginning . . .

Hollywood immortalized Ben Hur by filming Charlton Heston frantically slapping the reins of his horse drawn chariot. During this extraordinary race scene, we saw bodies fly and chariots splinter as drivers pushed themselves, and their vehicles, to the finish line. You can still see it on the streets today, where modern day gladiators contribute to unnecessary crashes and premature component failure in an effort to reach their destination more quickly than can be safely accomplished.

A lot has been learned since man first applied horsepower to a set of wheels. Watching a NASCAR or Indy car race today, you see that smoothness, anticipation and consistency are key to winning the race safely. Vehicle speeds are controlled primarily with the throttle rather than the brakes. The only reward for erratic driving is a trip into the wall or early retirement to the pits. The professional driver on today’s city streets can apply many of the same principles used by professional drivers on the track. And the results will be improved safety and reduced response times!

Make SafeForce™ the cornerstone of your driving philosophy

SafeForce™ driving simply means preparing for and expecting the unexpected, and driving accordingly. SafeForce™ drivers are aware of the environment around them and anticipate, in advance, what can or will happen next.

Smooth vehicle accelerations, decelerations and cornering are key components to driving safely and efficiently. They come easily to the driver who is not under stress. SafeForce™ drivers maintain a safe rate of speed, suitable to the road conditions. This ensures sufficient reaction time for what would otherwise be a surprise occurrence to the untrained amateur driver. SafeForce™ drivers watch for clues – turn signals, brake lights on the vehicle in front and the vehicle in front of that, traffic light timing like "flashing don’t walk to yellow" and "yellow to red". SafeForce™ drivers don’t speed or drive recklessly!

SafeForce™ clarifies your company’s driving policies

Drivers sometimes confuse getting on-scene quickly and safely with getting there at any cost. The problem is compounded by the adrenaline rush many experience while "running code". Add to this a false sense of security created when running emergency lights and sirens that other drivers either don’t see, don’t hear, or just ignore, and you have a crash waiting to happen. These are some of the factors that contribute to crashes that are both predictable and preventable!

Safety First . . .

Today, companies that are truly committed to safety give drivers the tools and training necessary to become part of the safe driving solution. Management realizes that any system that is dependent on corrective action, days or even weeks later, will not change inappropriate driving behavior and achieve compliance with company policies. With the Road Safety™ On-Board Computer System, driving parameters such as speed, rate of acceleration and deceleration and how the vehicle is driven while cornering are all part of the SafeForce™ driver grading system. If the driver operates the vehicle outside acceptable ranges of these parameters, they hear an immediate audio warning to take corrective action. This gives drivers a clear understanding of what management expects, and allows them to monitor and instantly correct their own driving performance.

The Road Safety™ On-Board Computer system records each second and each mile of operation of every vehicle in the fleet. Active driver identification enables the system to evaluate driver performance based on the amount of miles they drive and how safely they operate the vehicle.

Examples of unsafe vehicle operations include speeding, hard braking, rapid acceleration and hard cornering. When the driver begins to operate the vehicle in an unsafe manner, the SafeForce™ system produces an audible warning tone, much like a Geiger counter. This warning tone alerts the driver that he or she is approaching an unsafe vehicle operating condition and gives ample time to correct the mistake before a crash occurs. If this warning is ignored and the driver continues to push the vehicle into a dangerous condition, the system produces a steady tone. This tone alerts the driver that the system has started recording the occurrence into the driver grading system, further encouraging the driver to correct the unsafe action.

The A-B-C’s of SafeForce™ driving

The SafeForce™ driver grading system logs each second the driver operates the vehicle in an unsafe condition. The system converts these seconds into mathematical "counts". A level of performance grade is computed based on the Average (miles) Between Counts.

A "Level 10" driver has a greater number of safely driven miles between counts than a "Level 6" driver. The following chart shows how many safely driven miles the driver needs to average between counts to achieve each performance level. Many fleets consider Level 6 as their standard for minimum safe vehicle operation. Drivers below this standard receive additional training or performance review by supervisors.

The "Black Box"

The Road Safety™ SafeForce™ driving system is easy to install and can be configured with a wireless RF data transceiver for automatic downloading. No driver or administrator intervention is required. All vehicle and driver information, including the driver’s ABC performance, is downloaded to the system administrator’s desktop computer. Database reports allow the administrator to look at driver performance individually or in comparison to others. Driver performance data can also be viewed for emergency driving, non-emergency driving and total driving.

The following is an example of the Driver Grading Summary Report:



In addition to ABC reports, the SafeForce™ system will produce many other reports that can be used to ensure the safe and efficient operation of vehicles. These exception reports include failure to wear seat belts, unsafe vehicle backing, failure to consistently use turn signals, code violations and detailed second by second reporting and analysis.

Rewards for learning the ABC’s

EMT’s and Paramedics have long been among the ranks of unsung hero’s in modern society. With shows like Third Watch and Paramedics, only recently has the profession been acknowledged by the entertainment industry. With all the normal pressures associated with their job, the last thing a dedicated driver wants is a monitoring system that is used to beat them up – the old stick philosophy.

While we use ABC’s to mean Average Between Counts, it could also be thought of as "A Bunch of Carrots". Using the ABC’s of SafeForce™ driving, management has the opportunity to reward top performers and foster teamwork, rather than forcing people into submission. While some might say that any reward system is manipulative, it remains one of the most proactive ways to create permanent behavior change and eliminate unsafe driving habits.

The database reports do the work for you

With the power of the SafeForce™ database, reports ranking groups of drivers, including supervisors, are easily created. Competition has always been a strong motivator and now you can use it to your advantage. For example, any group of drivers obtaining a driving level score above the standard line could be presented with a commendation letter posted on the bulletin board, pizza, patches, certificates or any other affordable reward. Teamwork, group pressure and the undeniable fact that everybody wants to beat the supervisors, can all contribute to creating safer drivers in a positive working environment.

Identifying those who need help

The ABC’s of SafeForce™ driving reports quickly identify those in need of driver training or driver refresher courses. Helping drivers improve may save a life and will significantly reduce vehicle maintenance costs. ABC’s will then document and quantify the improvements as they are made. Unfortunately, there are still a small percentage of people who refuse to improve, even when opportunities and incentives are provided. The SafeForce™ driving system objectively points these people out. Sometimes, encouraging people to pursue a new career path works to the benefit of all parties concerned.

Road Safety Advanced Technology Partnership

Many new opportunities are available by adding the power and flexibility of the on-board computer that is the backbone of the SafeForce™ system. Road Safety™ system data can be integrated with GPS, AVL, CAD systems, video cameras, pen-pads, maintenance management and intelligent defibrillator/monitors. Significant enhancements to dispatch, patient care, transport documentation, billing and much more are now affordable and within the reach of every fleet.

SafeForce™ driving makes dollars and sense

SafeForce™ driving prevents costly crashes and drastically lowers fleet maintenance expenses. This in turn lowers your insurance costs. Lower operating costs, increased vehicle availability, extended vehicle life and improved utilization all contribute immediately and positively to the profitability of your operation.

If you consider employees to be the company’s most valuable asset, then providing a system that effectively trains drivers, reduces on-the-job stress and allows them to perform their primary mission of assisting the injured and saving lives, makes total financial sense. Failure to make a comprehensive driver safety commitment eventually results in vehicular crashes, which almost always leads to unnecessary injuries and, possibly, fatalities. They say "frequency breeds severity". The longer ineffectively trained drivers operate your vehicles, the more frequent and severe the crashes will be.

Imagine if you could sit next to each of your drivers every second they operate your vehicle – imagine the control you would have. With the SafeForce™ driving system, you have that type of control – the ability to change unsafe driving habits and aggressive driving behavior into smooth, under control, trained professional driving habits. That’s why our motto is "the best safety device in any vehicle is a well trained driver".

Is time everything? Does every second count?

It's not the mere seconds potentially gained through unsafe driving that is critical to patient outcome, it’s the minutes lost when reckless driving leads to a crash that is critical to the patient outcome. The only way to win the race to save a life or treat the injured is for your drivers to have the skills to get there in the first place – not some of the time – not most of the time – but every time! One Risk & Safety professional summed it up this way:

The SafeForce™ driving system gives our drivers the on-going training they need, provides early warning of a dangerous situation before it’s too late and protects us from the careless actions of other drivers on the road."

In the end . . .

While Hollywood may never immortalize an EMT or paramedic the way Ben Hur was immortalized, they will be no less a hero to the patients they successfully treat or transport every day. Let us give you a hand. Together we can make it a safe reality!