Western Express deploys 3,000 E-SMART units

Goal to make its truck fleet one of the safest and most innovative in the industry

Western Express, Inc., one of the nation’s largest and most respected truckload carriers, announced that it has expanded its partnership with E-SMART, a developer of fleet safety technology solutions that enhance vehicle safety.

As part of its goal to be the most technologically advanced company in the industry, Western Express plans to deploy 3,000 E-SMART units in their facilities across the country. E-SMART is an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) whose software/firmware solution manages the maximum speed a vehicle can attain for any posted speed limit. Furthermore, the system uses geofencing to protect drivers from high risk locations, such as low bridges by restricting the allowed speed as it approaches the bridge.

This expanded deployment of E-SMART follows a successful pilot test of 111 units in May 2019. As a result, Western Express’ fleet will be 100% equipped with
E-SMART.

“Before discovering E-SMART,” says Daniel Patterson, Director of Safety at Western Express, “we had occasional issues with bridge hits [due to lack of clearance], violations for unsafe driving-speeds, and sitting duck-collisions [when a rig is parked on the shoulder of a roadway]. It’s very, very important to us that our drivers get home safely. So we looked for a technology vendor that shared our values.”

E-SMART’s intelligent fleet management platform enables Western Express to proactively improve safety, compliance, and security in real-time. “For the E-SMART tests, we geofenced areas throughout Tennessee and New York State that had over 3,400 low-bridges. At randomly selected locations, we had drivers test out the locations.”

In these preliminary tests, E-SMART performed as predicted. “After we installed the first 100 units, we started seeing an ROI almost immediately,” says Patterson. “There was a drop in speeding violations and zero bridge hits. Costs went down and productivity was up, while we continued to serve our customers as effectively as ever. Even better, we were capturing data through the E-SMART portal that’s helping evolve our roadmap for safety. By preventing accidents, we can make the industry safer. E-SMART has done a great job of being flexible and helping us solve pain points.”

E-SMART has always worked closely with its customers. “When Western Express first sat with us,” says Mathieu Boivin, CEO and President of E-SMART, “we immediately recognized that our technology could help them. We analyzed their challenges and adjusted our solution accordingly. We learn something new with each of our customers, and these insights fueled our own on-going R&D. Innovation is at our core, so we invest consistently in how we can help alleviate some of the market pressures on our customers.”

Category: Driver Stuff, Featured, General Update, News, Safety