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NZI, one of New Zealand’s largest and most well known insurance brands, and technology pioneer Seeing Machines join forces in the war against fatigue affecting the commercial motor vehicle industry.
NZI’s National Manager of Commercial Motor, Ian Taylor says, “We know that fatigue is the silent killer on our roads and we’re making a commitment to do something about it. Accidents and fatalities caused through fatigue are preventable and we want to help.”
The Guardian System is a revolutionary combination of an in-cab sensor and forward-facing camera that prevents fatigue and distraction related incidents with real-time alerts.
“NZI holds a significant share of New Zealand’s commercial heavy motor market, so we’re on a mission to increase the uptake of this technology to help make our roads safer, save lives and reduce losses for transport operators. We’ve got ten Seeing Machine units for NZI and Lumley customers to trial for free for six weeks at a time, so customers should just give us a call,” says Taylor.
Seeing Machines’ Chief Operating Officer Paul Angelatos said: “This is an exciting opportunity to partner with a leading insurance company that shares the same commitment to safety and allows fleet owners to see the benefits for themselves. We thank NZI for the opportunity to bring our state-of-the-art driver safety solution to new customers in New Zealand, and to be at the forefront of reducing truck accidents.”
In 2014, 67 people died and a further 772 were injured in road crashes involving trucks, accounting for 23 percent of all deaths and 7 percent of all reported injuries on our roads, according to the Ministry of
Transport’s Trucks 2015 report.
In its 2015 Fatigue report, the Ministry stated that the more serious a crash, the more likely it was that driver fatigue was a contributing factor and the total social cost of crashes involving driver fatigue in 2014 was around $268 million. It estimated that driver fatigue is a factor in 13 percent of fatal crashes, six percent of serious injury crashes and six percent of minor injury crashes.
Seeing Machines is an Aussie-developed technology company that has been widely picked up in the world’s largest and safest fleet companies. Seeing Machines says companies they’ve worked with have seen up to a 90 percent reduction in fatigue and distraction incidents.
NZI and Lumley heavy motor vehicle customers interested in trialling Guardian should get in touch with NZI’s Fleet Risk Management team or go to FRM@nzi.co.nz to find out more.