Making In-Vehicle Monitoring Systems Work

Abstract

Abstract Syria Shell Petroleum Development is a joint venture partner in major EP activities in Syria. Many road transport fatalities were associated with these activities and therefore it was decided to try to improve this grim state of affairs by executing a dedicated road safety program fully funded by Shell. Drastic improvements in the road safety statistics were seen since then. The average number of fatalities dropped from more than 5 per year to 1. This paper gives you some brief highlights of the various initiatives aimed at reducing road transport fatalities. In spite of the drastic improvement in road safety it was recognised that the unsupervised driver in his vehicle remained the weakest element in ensuring safe road transport. In-Vehicle Monitoring Systems (IVMS) are often seen as the solution for this problem as it offers a means to supervise drivers. Unfortunately, the application of the "conventional" IVMS technology is often less effective. As part of the road safety program a novel method aimed at aligning drivers’ short-term benefits with long term safety interests by using IVMS was developed. The second part of the paper describes this novel approach and gives the encouraging result of a field trial as carried out in Syria. It is shown that substantial improvements in accident potential can be accomplished by using this novel way of applying IVMS. These results were accomplished without the usual problems associated with using IVMS and with hardly any noticeable burden on the organisation.