Study of the Impact of a Telematics System on Safe and Fuel-Efficient Driving in Trucks
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Study of the Impact of a Telematics System on Safe and Fuel-efficient Driving in Trucks April 2014 FOREWORD Phase I of the Motor Carrier Efficiency Study (MCES) identified a broad array of technology applications that have the potential to leverage advancements in wireless communications. With the commercial rollout of fourth-generation (commonly called 4G) wireless telecommunications systems, creative developers have greater opportunity to develop useful tools to exploit high- speed, data-rich communications networks. The convergence of advanced wireless capabilities and increasingly sophisticated onboard computing capabilities presents a timely opportunity to explore new ways to improve commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver performance, and simultaneously enhance CMV safety and fuel efficiency. This report is an evaluation of the use of telematics systems focusing on safe and fuel-efficient driving. Telematics is technology that combines telecommunications (i.e., the transmission of data from on-board vehicle sensors) and global positioning system (GPS) information (i.e., time and location) to monitor driver and vehicle performance. NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for its contents or the use thereof. The contents of this report reflect the views of the contractor, who is responsible for the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers named herein. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FMCSA-13-020 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Study of the Impact of a Telematics System on Safe and Fuel-efficient April 2014 Driving in Trucks 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Leverson Boodlal, PE (PI), Kun-Hung Chiang, PE 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) KLS Engineering, LLC 45155 Research Place, Suite 200 11. Contract or Grant No. Ashburn, VA 20147 (Delcan Corporation provided support on the Literature Review) 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report, April 2010–December Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 2011 Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20590 FMCSA 15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative: Quon Y. Kwan 16. Abstract A telematics system has been successfully demonstrated to be useful for improving motor carrier efficiency. In this particular field study, the research team demonstrated that telematics can be used to monitor and improve safe driving behavior as well as to monitor and improve fuel economy in trucks. Telematics were used to monitor various driver performance parameters: unsafe events (sudden accelerations and hard braking expressed as “yellow” and “red” events, depending on severity), speeding, engine revolutions per minute (RPM), and fuel economy. As the result of monitoring unsafe events and of driver intervention (i.e., providing of information, feedback, training, and/or an incentive to modify driver behavior), drivers of sleeper cabs showed a 55-percent reduction in less severe (yellow) unsafe events and a 60-percent reduction in more severe (red) unsafe events. The following appear to be the indirect effects of the intervention process that focused on reducing yellow and red events: drivers of sleeper cabs (long-haul drivers) showed a 42-percent decrease in percent of miles driving at > 65 miles per hour (mi/h), and drivers of day cabs showed a 33-percent decrease in percent of miles driving at > 65 mi/h (i.e., speeding). Drivers of sleeper cabs showed a 48-percent decline in percent of miles driven at > 1,500 RPM, and drivers of day cabs showed a 27-percent increase in percent of miles driven at > 1,500 RPM. As all of the above trends were taking place, fuel economy improved by 5.4 percent for drivers of sleeper cabs and by 9.3 percent for drivers of day cabs. The data appear to suggest that fuel economy correlates to safe driving. Because safe driving can be said to conserve fuel, and conserving fuel reduces emissions, safe driving can also be said to reduce emissions. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Commercial motor vehicle, fuel consumption, fuel No restrictions economy, fuel efficiency, safety, heavy vehicles, Class 8, unsafe events, driver intervention, safe driving, telematics. 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 54 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized. SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS Table of APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 Millimeters Mm ft feet 0.305 Meters M yd yards 0.914 Meters M mi miles 1.61 Kilometers Km AREA in² square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm² ft² square feet 0.093 square meters m² yd² square yards 0.836 square meters m² ac acres 0.405 Hectares Ha mi² square miles 2.59 square kilometers km² VOLUME 1000 L shall be shown in m³ fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 Milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 Liters L ft³ cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m³ yd³ cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m³ MASS oz ounces 28.35 Grams G lb pounds 0.454 Kilograms Kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or “metric ton”) Mg (or “t”) TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °F Fahrenheit 5 × (F-32) ÷ 9 Celsius °C or (F-32) ÷ 1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 Lux Lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m² cd/m² Force and Pressure or Stress lbf poundforce 4.45 Newtons N lbf/in² poundforce per square inch 6.89 Kilopascals kPa Table of APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH Mm millimeters 0.039 inches In M meters 3.28 feet Ft m meters 1.09 yards Yd km kilometers 0.621 miles Mi AREA mm² square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in² m² square meters 10.764 square feet ft² m² square meters 1.195 square yards yd² ha hectares 2.47 acres Ac km² square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi² VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons Gal m³ cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft³ m³ cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd³ MASS g grams 0.035 ounces Oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds Lb Mg (or “t”) megagrams (or “metric ton”) 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °C Celsius 1.8c + 32 Fahrenheit °F ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles Fc cd/m² candela/m² 0.2919 foot-Lamberts Fl Force & Pressure Or Stress N newtons 0.225 poundforce Lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in² * SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003, Section 508-accessible version September 2009). ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1 1.1 REPORT PURPOSE ......................................................................................................1 1.1.1 Structure of This Report.................................................................................... 3 1.1.2 Background ....................................................................................................... 3 1.1.3 Objectives ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW SUMMARY .........................................................................4 1.2.1 Summary ........................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Observations and Implications .......................................................................... 4 1.2.3 Key Literature Findings .................................................................................... 5 2. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................................................7 2.1 FIELD STUDY ..............................................................................................................7 2.1.1 Fleet Recruitment .............................................................................................. 7 2.1.2 Vehicle Specification ........................................................................................ 8 2.1.3 Wireless Telematics System Selection ............................................................. 8 2.1.4 Data Requirements ............................................................................................ 9 2.1.5 Project Stages .................................................................................................. 11 2.1.6 Evaluation Process .......................................................................................... 13 3. PERFORMANCE MEASURES ........................................................................................15