School bus company Durham School Services recently saw improvements in driver behavior as a result of deploying a video telematics system on its buses.

Durham completed installation of video telematics supplier Lytx’s event recorders across its entire fleet of 15,000 buses in December 2018.  Since the bus company’s trial with the Lytx Driver Safety Program in 2014 and the full deployment last year, National Express, Durham’s parent company, has been working to equip every bus in the larger National Express family with the Lytx system, due to the improvements Durham has seen in drivers’ overall safety.

“Lytx technology has enabled us to notice critical details in driving behavior, like failing to come to a complete stop at stop signs,” said Bob Ramsdell, chief safety officer of National Express.  “This sort of attention to detail allows us to identify not just when dangerous driving occurs but to understand how it happens, so that we can better prevent risk before it leads to an accident.”

Like many transportation companies, without video telematics, Durham School Services was only able to quantify individual risk by the number of accidents a driver had, according to Lytx. With the Lytx Driver Safety Program, the company has created a new definition of risk, built around instances of behaviors like seat belt violations, late responses, or unsafe following distance.

Another example of districts moving ahead with improving safety for their passengers.