According to the NY Times, most people check their phones 150 times each day and despite it being illegal in many countries research suggests that up to 88% of drivers still check their phone during a journey. A report published by Zendrive suggests that a shocking 57% of all collisions involve phone use before impact.
Apart from the serious health and safety implications of commercial vehicle collisions, damage to vehicles, equipment and cargo, revenue loss, insurance premium hikes, associated fines and licence penalties can all have a huge impact on fleet operations.
Designed by fleet experts, CameraMatics’ platform provides full visibility and complete control of the fleet – enabling businesses to manage every aspect of their fleet in one place, wherever they are. Live vehicle telematics, real-time camera footage and instant alerts are all available within the platform. Now, in partnership with ping, emails, texts, dispatch notifications and any other time-sensitive messages can be read out loud automatically, so drivers don’t need to interact with their phone and stay focused on the road.
This development is particularly timely, in light of the recent tightening of regulations on the use of hand-held mobile phones at the wheel. As of 2022, the UK government made it an illegal offence to use a hand-held phone while driving under almost all circumstances. Drivers caught holding or using a phone may receive a £200 (up to £2,500) fine and 6 points off their license.
Commenting on the partnership, CameraMatics CEO, Mervyn O’Callaghan says that
“Integrating ping into our platform supports our customers to protect their drivers. When you combine this with our existing safety features it makes our platform the most comprehensive safety solution on the market”.
Garin Toren, ping CEO adds,
“Our mission is to save time, money and lives. The technology removes the ‘urge’ to check notifications and eliminates unnecessary distractions; thus, reducing the risk of costly collisions. No segment benefits more from the combination of the CameraMatics and ping platforms than commercial and fleet drivers.”