Oregon’s Umatilla County has partnered with Drivewyze, a North American Connected Truck platform, to provide commercial truck drivers with in-cab safety alerts in an effort to reduce vehicle crash rates in active work zones.

The Umatilla County pilot program to improve highway safety includes a collaboration between Drivewyze, and one.network, a digital work zone and road management platform provider. The alerts, which give drivers a heads-up to upcoming work zones, are aimed at improving driver behavior by reducing the occurrence of over-speeding and hard-braking events.

The in-cab safety alerts are available to all truck drivers and trucking fleets at no cost through the Drivewyze Free service. Drivewyze Free can be activated through 100+ telematics service providers partnered with Drivewyze or downloaded directly from app stores. 

Umatilla County, which covers more than 3,200 square miles in eastern Oregon, borders Washington state and connects to Boise on the border of Idaho via Interstate 84. It’s a main transportation corridor with mid-sized Oregon towns, like Baker City and Pendleton along the route.

Rural Road Safety Starts with Good and Usable Data

“Umatilla County realized that there wasn't a rural county program that we could build off of that could supply us with information that could both address safety and transport issues," said Dan Dorran, Umatilla County Commissioner. "We were lucky to have a local state representative, Rep. Greg Smith, who also recognized our issue and successfully went to bat for pilot project funds from the State of Oregon that we matched at the county level. Through Drivewyze, we are bringing rural roads into the 21st century digital age.”

According to Simon Topp, one.network’s chief commercial officer, recent government data shows that one out of three work zone fatal crashes involves at least one large truck. 

“Between 2020 and 2021, work zone fatalities increased by 10.8%,” he said. “There were increases in the percentages of fatal work zone crashes involving rear-end collisions, as well as those involving a commercial motor vehicle. Work zone alerts can help to reduce these tragic accidents and the associated costs borne by our society.”

Drivewyze is partnering with transportation agencies across the U.S. to deliver essential safety alerts and advisories through Drivewyze Free to truck drivers and fleets. Over one fourth of all states have, or are in the process of, implementing this in-vehicle extension to traditional highway safety programs, according to Drivewyze. In addition to active work zones, message sets can include warnings for sudden and unexpected slowdowns, service vehicles, virtual safety signs, and public emergency broadcasts.