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Sep 1, 2004 12:00 PM

With Eaton VORAD collision warning systems (CWS) and automated transmissions like the Fuller UltraShift and AutoShift, Roadranger says fleets can make money and save lives. Dimitri Kazarinoff, director of global marketing for Roadranger and Eaton Corp, cited fleet experiences with Eaton VORAD CWS in reducing accidents:

• One fleet cut rear-end and lane change crashes from .33 million miles traveled, to zero (100% reduction).

• Another fleet reduced fixed object crashes by 81%.

• A third fleet reduced lane change crashes by 80% in 1998 and by 76% in 1999.

• A 605-truck fleet equipped with VORAD over an 18-month period from July 2001 to December 2002 ran a cumulative 196 million miles with an accident rate of 0.0665 per million miles — a 92% reduction from the non-VORAD accident rate of 0.88 per million miles.

These and other fleet accident statistics were compiled and combined by Roadranger over three years on 1,900 trucks to show VORAD-preventable accidents were reduced by 78%, said Kazarinoff. Six of the eight fleets in the study saw accidents reduced 100%.

Kazarinoff then quoted Safestat accident rates in 2001, and compared average total accident rates (VORAD-preventable and non-VORAD preventable) for that year with VORAD-equipped trucks (14,046 trucks) versus non-VORAD-equipped trucks (72,964 trucks). In VORAD-equipped trucks, all accidents were reduced by 34% compared with non-VORAD-equipped trucks, and fatal accidents were reduced by 58%.

“Based on this data,” said Kazarinoff, “just one VORAD-equipped truck can reduce its total accident costs to society by $9,600 per year. At a conservative fatal accident rate reduction of 50%, every 1,000 trucks equipped with VORAD CWS can save two lives per year.”