Industry-leading investments in new technologies will provide drivers with vehicles that are best-in-class in safety and sustainability wrote Udit Madan, Vice President of Amazon Transportation in a blog post.Safety is integral to operations at Amazon—every day, in every country, and especially on the road. In the blog post the company reported that it continues to innovate and advance safety features in the trucks and vans, keeping the safety of partners and communities where it delivers as our top priority.
A challenge as complex as roadway safety requires strong leadership across both the public and private sectors. Amazon has helped lead the way in investments and innovations,
It highlights of how Amazon is already working toward the goals outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS). The examples below are each part of a $200 million investment in new safety technology.Here are some of the tech-based safety and sustainability solutions Amazon is investing in this year:
- Amazon equipped middle mile trucking network, which is responsible for shipping packages to and from operations sites before they’re dispatched for last mile delivery to customers, with leading safety technology, including automatic emergency braking, front-collision warning, stability control, lane-departure warning, side-object detection, adaptive cruise control, and speed limiters. Since 2017, Amazon tractors have also been equipped with driver-facing cameras that can help identify unsafe behaviors, like distracted driving, so drivers can be coached to prevent those behaviors from happening again. Amazon trailers are outfitted with sensors to monitor lights, anti-lock braking systems, cargo and door sensors, and more. Based on the company’s full technology package, equipment manufacturers have indicated that Amazon is a pioneer in incorporating the most advanced safety features. And outside of the fleet, Amazon invested heavily in route planning navigation systems and predictive analytics software to better monitor fleet safety. All of this is embedded into Amazon mobile technology, called Relay, that connects carriers and drivers to Amazon, and provides them with navigation assistance, real-time driver-facing alerts, safety performance summaries, and additional safety learning.
- Amazon is also investing to expand in-vehicle camera safety technology across its last mile delivery network, which is proven to help reduce unsafe behavior in real time by reducing driver-controllable safety incidents. This technology identifies safety events and provides real-time alerts. Aamzon began outfitting Amazon-branded delivery vans in the U.S. with this technology in 2020 and, since rolling it out, there is a 35 percent reduction in accident rates across our network. This technology is a game-changer and will be in nearly 100 percent of Amazon branded vehicles by April 2023. This technology is just one of the safety features in Amazon custom electric delivery vehicles (EDVs) from Rivian, which are now delivering Amazon packages in more than 100 cities nationwide. In addition, these vans include a 360-degree camera detection system so drivers can see exactly what’s next to them as they back up and turn, emergency braking, rollaway detection, and more. Beyond these in-vehicle systems, Fleet Edge technology leverages data to improve the routing software to solve for common roadway issues such as construction, accurate lane navigation, and unsafe maneuvers. This technology has increased GPS accuracy by over 2.5 times since we began testing it, which helps drivers be both safer and more efficient—benefitting them, communities, and the planet.
- Amazon currently piloting strobing brake light technology in some trailers to provide greater visibility during braking to others on the road. This technology has the potential to reduce rear-end collisions by as much as 30 percent. And later this year Amazon will begin deploying an innovative new safety feature in our trucking fleet that uses digital side mirror camera technology to reduce blind spots and enhance the overall safety of our already industry-leading trucks.
He reported that Amazon is excited about the progress made to date and what the continued investments in 2023 will mean as they work to continuously improve in both safety and sustainability. Amazon will continue to invest and invent to ensure its trucks, delivery vans, trailers, and drivers are among the safest on the road.