Does this go for every carrier???

does his truck also have a vorad system on it? it's an antenna on the front that lets you know if you're too close to someone. if so, the computer would show that he was NOT following anyone and all of a sudden, there was someone right in front of him. this would be taken into consideration along with the recorded "hard brake" event. maybe we aren't getting the whole story?

 

Quallcomms can be programmed to show abnormal deaccel as well as abnormal accell.

they use this info to determine at which point a load shifted etc.

(example - bob pick a load of glass up and takes it 800 miles where he swaps with gary... gary takes it another 150 miles and goes home... while at home the company send doug around to get it from gary so he can run it in for a delivery... when doug opens the doors their is broken glass everywhere - and no one admits having a problem on the load. The company can now look at the quallcomm deaccel info for the three drivers and see if anyone had an extreme braking situation. come to find out gary shows a 62 to 0 mph in less than "X" seconds and was probably responsible for the damage.)

(example 2 - ted gets in an accident... hits a school bus in the rear - when the school bus pulled out in front of him - "truck drivers fault always".. witnesses say he did not even slow down... judge is going to add that to the mitigating circumstances and fry the driver of the truck...
ted has his company print out his deaccel telemetry for that day...

shows he hard braked 8 seconds prior to impact - and this info discredits witnesses and probably kept him out of jail.)



scarecrow - jdrentxjr
The ECM - (engine control module) on all makes of engines does not record any info save for a list of error codes do be read by a mechanic using the oby doby port and a reader (some older trucks flash codes on the dash lights in a read mode when the ignition is turned half on...).


it does however give the qualQ its telemetry data where it is stored on a 72 hour flash memory.

parameters include (not all of them)

GPS info - speed location etc. QUALQ

TP (throtle position) FROM ECM

rpm's FROM ECM

Rolling hours QUALQ

Brake application QUALQ and ECM via actuation signal



9 times out of 10 we do not get the whole story about things like this - the probability that his company had an alert regarding a hard brake via qualQ's interface is slim... unless he was being watched closely....

when I had some guys working for me I received about 2 phone calls from the public a week complaining about this and that (hazzards of having your phone number on your equipment). I would call the guy up and ask him about it - and usually it was an idiot 4 wheeler doing what we have all seen a million times - the 4 wheeler running a merge lane till it ends and then being stuck next to a truck. etc etc Only once did a call lead to anything more than a "be careful" call from me... and that was because the guy had call after call for abrupt lane changes and idiot things (and he started getting tickets too for stuff...)

when you purchase a qualQ and its services you have your choice of how detailed the data collection will be (more services = more cost per month per unit)...

if you haul a refer and your company has a qualQ - chances are they also get the temp control interface via the reefer manufacturer.

a truck alone will run you (depending on volume of biz) about 20 bucks a month add reefer another 5 add full text and email another 8 add alert and warning mode with speed alerts (instant email to your fleet manager if you go way overspeed) another 5 etc etc etc

 

vorad is a low bandwith pulse radar system mounted under your front bumber (and a slave mounted on your rear in some cases) and warns you if your closing speed is too great (or that something is flying up behind you)

It is a stand alone system - and will not link with a qualQ nor does it have
any memory...

it cost about a grand way back when...

vorad was popular in 2001/2003 but never caught on since you get a lot of false signals on 2 lane roads (oncoming traffic sets off the alarm in some cases).

cool idea - poor execution.

 

If the ECM doesn't record this information, how do you explain a truck without Qualcomm having this information????

 

read my post -


the qualQ gets its engine / driveline telemetry info from the ECM... the qualQ has a 72 hour flash memory...

 

My company has installed cameras in the truck that look forward and at the driver. They come on if the brakes are applied hard. Slamming on the brakes IS NOT that common and we drive in the city and are in more traffic than any OTR driver. Our training is top notch but we still have scam artist out there that try to collect from accidents that the camera proves they were at fault and the drivers that are just not watching.

We don't see any kids playing in the front yard because we don't drive in residential areas but you're right we do look far enough down the road to see any obstacles and I would hope all drivers do. Watching out for the other guy is part of our everyday driving along with all the other things we see by keeping our eyes moving.

You'd be surprised on how well the cameras have worked mainly because the company uses them as a tool and not a disciplinary device to punish the driver. Any good company will recognize the time and money it's put forward to train a driver and will want to keep them. That's why I always say keep your record clean so after a couple of years doing your time gaining experience you'll become an asset and wanted by the better companies.

 

I did read your post. You said that the ECM doesn't record hard brakes, yet this information was available on the last OTR truck I drove, a 97 FL Classic with no Q/C. My mechanic friend only had to hook his laptop up to the truck's ECM and all the information that companies pull off a Q/C was there, including sudden starts and stops, top RPM and top MPH, etc.

 

ok - but the truck has to be present - with a laptop plugged in... (or O reader)


my point is that an "email" from the truck to the dispatcher is done via QualC - not the ecm...

as for the ecm banking info - and the ecm being able to record "hard breaking" that is inknown to me...

the info I have seen / used links the time events of GPS deaccel with TP and with brake application.

 

The way it was explained to me is that the ECM will record a hard brake if there is a deceleration of more than 7MPH in one second.

Also, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in stating that the ECM only records the information. I wasn't trying to imply that the ECM could send an email to a dispatcher's desk. That can obviously only be done with a Qualcomm or other on-board satellite communications system. My implication was meant to let others know that just because a company might not have an OBSCS doesn't mean that they can't find out how the truck is driven when it's serviced.

 

Ok, I'm calling BS on your knowlrdge of what an ECM & Vorad Sytem can do! I have personal experience with both. Do you?

As Scarecrow already stated, the ECM DOES store data, including hard braking.

The Vorad System DOES have memory. I think its a 10 - 30 loop, but enough recordable time for data that was collected prior to an acident.

The company I work for previously had them installed after they realized the value they could be in the event of an acident. This was based on a case in which a driver was facing the possibility of being tried for manslaughter after he rear ended a car. The car was driven by the, then, current teacher of the year in AR.. It was early morning and very thick fog. The driver was traveling at 45mph, 10mph below the speed limit, on a two lane road that had private driveways conected to it. When the data fron the Vorad System was downloaded, it showed there were no objects in the trucks path until imediately before the impact. Thus, giving the driver no time to react. The passenger side transponder picked up the object (car) closing in on the truck just a few seconds before the front transponder did. This information helped the accident investigators determine that the teacher was backing out of her driveway, and on to the highway, at a high rate of speed, in foggy conditions. i.e. She backed her car into his oncoming tractor.

It was this STORED DATA that set this driver free.

I can't speak for the early versions of Vorad, but I drove with the system for over a year without one false reading. As a safety conscience o/o, if I could afford the system, I would have it on my truck.