What is Driver Buddy

Are you looking for a way to ensure your safe driving plan is applied by your drivers? MyFleet has a brand new affordable and environmentally friendly solution for your company!

Our newest product, the Driver Buddy guarantees that your chain of responsibility control measures make it out of the manuals and into the front seats of your vehicles, where they will improve fleet safety and efficiency of travel, and advance your ability to track your fleet and ensure your company's policies are enforced.

Driver Buddy is a smartphone application, easily downloadable to either Android or Apple devices. This means it is accessible on a phone, a mobile tablet, or via an industrial display mounted in the cabins of your vehicles.

The Driver Buddy application interacts with both the driver and supervisor during trips, reinforcing the key points of the Safe Driving Plan for the route they are driving. It also updates managers with information such as how many hours a driver has left to complete a shift, as well as whether they are driving in an unsafe or erratic manner.

Managers have real time monitoring and two-way communication to correct bad driving behaviour, making it easier to ensure their entire operations are safe. The application also assists drivers to self-manage their driving style and perform at their best. The two-way communication feature allows both drivers and managers to address issues that may arise on the road.

With specialised features ranging from mandatory pre-travel safety inspections to updated information about the safest and most convenient rest stops available, the Driver Buddy is your most reliable assurance that your fleet operates the way you want.

It’s easy as 1,2,3

Step One

Drivers log in to the Driver Buddy application on a device of your choice, and complete a basic check of the vehicle to confirm roadworthiness, as well as a fit for duty declaration confirming their ability to perform the work to the standard required by your business rules. Tailored checklists will consist of customised requirements designed by you, determined by the specific values, vehicle types, and work classification of your organisation. The completed checks form an official binding acknowledgement of the fitness of the driver and vehicle for work, and can be legally enforced where necessary. This procedure ensures that any issues are detected as early as possible to increase the safety of your drivers and your organisation

Step Two

The Driver Buddy is equipped with an alert system that can be used by your drivers if anything goes wrong on the road. The alert advises your supervisors by email or SMS of the issue. The system interacts with drivers in the field to bring to their attention potential hazards, dangerous road zones and changing driving conditions. It will also monitor driving performance to ensure your drivers know when they are required to take a break or make changes to their driving. The system is designed to ensure a real-time response to and resolution of any problems the driver may encounter, and thus improves the efficiency and safety of your fleet.

Step Three

GPS tracking in the Driver Buddy application enables you to monitor the progress of your drivers, fatigue patterns, and dangerous behaviours in their driving. supervisors will be able to access the tracking data and insert additional mandatory rest stops, with an automatic alert in the circumstance that your drivers depart from expected protocol by speeding, harsh braking, idling or neglecting scheduled rest breaks. This chain of responsibility control measure enables you to ensure drivers complete trips safely and efficiently, without breaching the privacy of employees, who are aware of the capability of the system and are therefore able to work comfortably within it

Why Is Driver Buddy the Smartest Way to Implement Safe Driving Plans?

Driver Buddy is a more effective method of distributing safe driving plans than the alternative paper print out for several reasons. Creating a smartphone application that acts as a chain of responsibility control measure is the surest way to ensure that it will not be lost or left behind, as most people tend to keep their mobile phone in their possession at all times. In contrast to standard safety driving plans, which are typically distributed in easily disregarded printed manuals, Driver Buddy is much harder to ignore or misplace.

Safe driving plans in a hard copy format are not only easily misplaced, but also have the potential to become a hazard in themselves, as drivers can easily become distracted trying to locate the manual in the truck while they drive, looking at the location of their next rest stop, or checking the plan for hazards ahead. In comparison, Driver Buddy can be mounted on the windscreen for easy visibility, or can be set up with GPS audio that dictates instructions, updates and warnings, and provides drivers with information without them having to take their eyes from the road, or forcing them to pull or over to check their plan. Installed on their mobile, unlike a hard copy, the plan will always be on hand.

The digital format of the Driver Buddy enables updates to be pushed to the device as required, thus adapting far more rapidly to changing conditions than other chain of responsibility control measures. The ability to calculate factors arising on the road enables additional rest stops to be added to the trip plan if, for example, harsh braking incidents and speeding suggest the driver is tiring and driving quality is deteriorating.

The two-way communication feature of Driver Buddy facilitates the vital driver/manager relationship. Driver Buddy is an undoubted asset for both parties, as drivers can complete their work safely and efficiently, and managers can rest easy knowing that if an issue arises they can make contact quickly and reduce delays.

How Can Driver Buddy Help Manage Driver Fatigue?

Driver Buddy's fatigue management technology has been developed to accommodate your company's needs. The specialised settings not only ensure that drivers take regular breaks, but provides constant and accurate updates on the safest, most suitable and convenient rest stops, and can analyse whether additional breaks are required based on the driving pattern of each individual driver. Since under Australian fatigue law drivers are required to take breaks at specified intervals throughout journeys, breaches of this requirement by even the smallest margin may result in fines and loss of credibility for the company.

Driver Buddy responds to this reality by enabling drivers to be aware of how much time they have before their next break, with constant user friendly updates and alerts which, unlike a printed driving plan, facilitate rapid compliance. Driver Buddy monitors driving hours throughout the driver's shift, and specifies when and where the next break should be taken. Such certainty is ideal for both drivers and supervisors, as in the event of a driver exceeding permitted hours an immediate alert is provided to managers via email or SMS.

In addition to scheduled breaks, Driver Buddy has the unprecedented ability to automatically calculate where additional breaks may be required, based on the driver's performance during the trip. The driver is provided with live feedback on technique, highlighting incidents such as speeding events or harsh braking, as is the supervisor, and where such oversight suggests erratic or tired driving, the driver will be notified and instructed to take an additional break.

With the inevitable variance between factors such as vehicle size and value of transported goods, some rest stops may be more suitable for your vehicles than others. Driver Buddy has this covered too! With all the latest information about rest stops on your routes, as well as any unique requirements of your specific vehicles, the system calculates the most appropriate stops, and passes this information in real-time to your drivers as they travel. This ensures that your fleet and your drivers remain safe and can take their breaks efficiently and in compliance with regulations.

How Can Driver Buddy Ensure Your Drivers Enforce Your Values on The Road?

The real-time feedback system of Driver Buddy enables close analysis of your drivers conduct and driving behaviours as they drive, with notifications provided to both the driver and supervisors for potentially dangerous incidents such as harsh braking, speeding, and idling. A real-time alert is projected on the drivers display screen, allowing them to rectify bad driving performance. If issues persist, an additional break alert will be issued, requiring the driver to pull over at the next safe stop. Driver Buddy features a specialised ranking system to analyse the habits and safety of your drivers, based off their driving incidents. Drivers who incur numerous or reoccurring infringements receiving a lower rank than others, and vice versa. This enables you to identify drivers that need further training, and improves fuel efficiency.

The automated driver performance reports provided by Driver Buddy allow managers to enjoy an unprecedented level of understanding of what is happening in their fleet. These reports also help your drivers to self-improve in the areas that matter to you, as a low ranking is undesirable, and will inspire greater compliance with your policies to achieve better results.

How Can Driver Buddy Prevent Accidents?

Not only does the application keep drivers updated on when their next scheduled break is, but guides them to the safest and most convenient rest stops on their route. These recommendations are determined by constantly updating information analysed by the program.

In addition to scheduled breaks in the safe driving plan, the application can detect tired or erratic driving via several indicators outlines below, and will notify the driver that an additional break is required. If a driver exceeds their driving hours or skips a scheduled or recommended break, an email or SMS alert is immediately sent to the driver's supervisor, notifying them of the breach.

Indicators which may suggest a driver needs an additional break are all actions generally resulting from fatigue and lack of focus. The Driver Buddy analyses incidents of speeding, idle, and harsh braking to determine the driver's concentration level. Notifications are provided for drivers in the event of any of these occurring, allowing them to rectify their bad driving performance. Reoccurrence of any of these issues suggests the driver is unfocused and needs an additional break.

The Driver Buddy is constantly gathering updated information to ensure all hazards are brought to the driver's attention as early as possible. This includes traffic congestion and alternate routes, sharp corners, black spots, exclusion zones and changing weather conditions.

The two-way communication feature of the Driver Buddy enables supervisors to maintain constant contact with drivers throughout the trip, giving instructions, warning of hazards, and correcting erratic driving. This ensures that all issues arising are dealt with efficiently and promptly, and allows for company policies to be upheld to a high standard.

All data gathered by the Driver Buddy is compiled into a report on the performance of the driver, and they are ranked based off their driving behaviour. This is to ensure that any drivers who require additional training are identified as early as possible.

These features of the Buddy System application ensure that drivers can enjoy complete awareness of their surroundings and potential issues on the road. Driver safety and reduction of accident risk are two of the core priorities of fleet management. MyFleet has simplified this responsibility markedly by creating the first and only integrated safe driving plan which actively works to uphold these values and increase driver safety: the Driver Buddy.

In addition to scheduled breaks, Driver Buddy has the unprecedented ability to automatically calculate where additional breaks may be required, based on the driver's performance during the trip. The driver is provided with live feedback on technique, highlighting incidents such as speeding events or harsh braking, as is the supervisor, and where such oversight suggests erratic or tired driving, the driver will be notified and instructed to take an additional break.

With the inevitable variance between factors such as vehicle size and value of transported goods, some rest stops may be more suitable for your vehicles than others. Driver Buddy has this covered too! With all the latest information about rest stops on your routes, as well as any unique requirements of your specific vehicles, the system calculates the most appropriate stops, and passes this information in real-time to your drivers as they travel. This ensures that your fleet and your drivers remain safe and can take their breaks efficiently and in compliance with regulations.