Is Your Fleet Storm Ready?

Quick Summary:

• National weather predictions indicate an above-normal storm season, causing fleets to put extra precaution and planning for their routes and drivers.
• Automated in-cab tools can improve situational awareness for drivers, helping them avoid dangerous situations or better respond if they are suddenly encountering one.
• Driver safety alerts must be strategic, easy to process without adding distraction, and delivered in the right way at the right time to be effective.

As this year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season (June 1 to November 30) approaches its historic peak timeframe, conditions continue to favor an above-normal season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The organization is standing behind its original prediction of 12-18 named storms this year for the Atlantic outlook, and 1-4 named storms for the Central Pacific outlook.

A “named storm” indicates that winds will reach 39 mph or greater. Studies show that winds at that threshold start impacting the drivability of a commercial rig, with 60 mph winds being enough to potentially flip a truck. NOAA also predicts 6-10 hurricanes for the year, and 3-5 major hurricanes, adding to the potential weather risks for this season.

With these predictions, it’s safe to say that commercial drivers may indeed find themselves approaching — or suddenly engulfed in — a serious weather event. Additionally, commercial drivers are often tasked with intentionally entering a weather event in order to deliver vital goods that support critical services and infrastructure. While most people are fleeing to escape the threatening weather, commercial drivers must instead head directly into the dangerous environment, delivering loads that save lives and keep a society functioning.

While some weather events approach more slowly with plenty of time to prepare and plan, others can come upon drivers very suddenly and drastically. It’s critical for fleets to have the plans and tools in place to most effectively support their drivers during a severe weather event.

Expanding Fleets’ Best Practices for Severe Weather

In shipping, fleets previously responded to severe weather threats with two main approaches: preparation (making sure you’re training drivers properly for potential extreme weather) and forecasting (trip planning and all things taking place before the truck starts rolling). For the last five years or so, however – with the ELD mandate and the rise of the “connected truck” – real-time data and in-cab communications are increasingly playing a key role in keeping drivers and their loads safe in extreme weather.

A fleet can do all the planning and use all the forecasting it wants, but because of the unpredictability of the weather, there can be sudden changes that leave your driver in the middle of an extreme weather event. Real-time, en route data can increase the driver’s situational awareness and help them make better decisions and stay safer.

Related Resource: How Technology Helps Fleets Mitigate Extreme Weather

‍How Does En-Route Data Help Drivers During Extreme Weather? 

Once a driver is engaged in a severe weather event, communications and situational awareness become more vital than ever. With the increases in sensors and in-cab communication tools, drivers can sometimes fall victim to alert fatigue or overwhelm. They can receive so many alerts, they have difficulty prioritizing the important ones and it simply all becomes background noise. 

Fleets must have a way to prioritize vital alerts, such as those for extreme weather, and deliver them at the right time, in the right way, so that they can be easily processed by the driver without adding any distraction to an already tense situation. Today’s leading fleet management software tools do this by leveraging:

• Geofencing: Alerts are set to be delivered based on a truck’s exact location. Using the GPS data, drivers receive important information at the moment they need it, to prepare for what’s just ahead. Too soon or too late is not helpful.
• Privileged Alerts: In some cases, fleets can choose to have a notification “take over” the entire ELD screen momentarily, making the alert very easy to see and also prioritizing its importance. 
• Easy-to-Understand Notifications: Using alerts that mimic road signs – including color, shape, and iconography – makes it easier for drivers to quickly process the alert without taking their eyes off the road for any time longer than absolutely necessary. 
• Appropriate Alert Expiration: Ensuring that alerts expire at the right time – whether based on the National Weather Service information, the truck’s GPS location, or the fleet’s own discretion – ensures that drivers do not receive unnecessary follow-up messages or alerts that no longer apply to their location. This again helps reduce the amount of competing alerts and noise within the cab. 
• Reporting from the Edge: Severe weather often impacts cell phone towers and communications connectivity. Ensuring a fleet's telematics utilize both the Cloud and edge computing (allowing data processing to take place on the truck itself until connectivity is restored) can be key in ensuring trucks don’t “go dark” when they encounter connectivity loss. 

Telematics data is also very informative after a severe weather event, helping fleets evaluate what worked well or what needs improvement, such as driver coaching or internal SOPs. Fleet management tools also help fleets integrate Department of Transportation (DOT) information more effectively – such as road closures – to reduce disruption in service while still keeping drivers and trucks safe. 

Case Study: C.R. England

C.R. England Trucking is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based fleet with more than 3,900 rigs in service. As part of their ongoing safety initiatives, they began working with technology developer Drivewyze by Fleetworthy to implement its Drivewyze Safety+ tools. According to their recent case study report, this set of tools originally focused on speeding events and road hazards. However, during its implementation process, C.R. England requested more support for weather alerts. As a result, Drivewyze by Fleetworthy developed a new function to utilize severe weather alerts from a national weather service agency, then geo-fences hazardous areas to trigger in-cab notifications. 

The weather alerts were well-received by drivers since they provided increased foresight, and helped drivers be more prepared and make better decisions. Since 2019, C.R. England has come close to cutting in half its chargeable accidents per million miles, thanks to these proactive integrations with smarter and more helpful safety alerts.

How to Implement Weather Alerts into Your Fleet Management Tools

Adding weather alert functionality into your fleet management system is most efficient when operating in an open, flexible platform. For example, the fleet management tools from Platform Science utilize a library of add-on apps, similar to an app store for a smart phone. Fleets can customize their system by selecting add-on apps from the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace based on their specific needs and goals. These apps have all been tested and pre-approved to integrate seamlessly into the Platform Science framework. 

In the case of weather alerts, fleets can choose the Drivewyze Safety+ add-on from the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace. This tool allows fleets to create their own virtual signs, including rules that trigger when and where drivers should receive them. The alerts are designed to look just like easily recognized road signs with colors and iconography drivers can instantly understand. 

Related Resource: Download the Drivewyze Safety+ one-pager now.

Including weather alerting in your fleet management processes and tools can help ensure your fleet is truly storm ready and that your drivers are given every possible tool to navigate the unpredictable nature of extreme weather events. 

Learn more about Drivewyze Safety+ add on tools for Platform Science now. 

Set up a demo by contacting Platform Science today.

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