The new age of driver improvement
I’ve spent over 30 years in road safety, which has also grown into a passion for me. In my spare time I still spend time going to road safety events, reading up on new information and of course, writing articles so others can also benefit from this thing called driving. I was recently introduced to a unique product which not only monitors driver conduct, but also records it in photo and video format. I was interested enough I just had to find out more. Not just as a road safety educator, but as a parent of teenage drivers.
I’ve used a dash cam previously so I wanted to see what the difference was with Raven Connected. Not only did it record video of what was happening on the road, it also had a view of the seating compartment. This would let me know what was happening inside the vehicle, who may be distracted and by what and how many passengers the driver had with them. But what I really liked was the details it gave me about how smoothly the driver was operating the vehicle.
Raven Connected plugs into the OBD-II port on most vehicles, so it’s always in sync with the vehicle. No special wiring, no
batteries, nothing but ease when setting it up. Raven Connected measures harsh braking, aggressive acceleration, average speed, top speed and fuel economy to name just a few of the features. The information can be easily monitored from your cell phone by way of their app. After reading how it works; it was time to put it to the test. I didn’t just want to have it for a day or 2; I chose to test it out for 2 full weeks. I wasn’t disappointed.
I was impressed. It was easy to use and I can see the benefit of a parent using it. It’s not just about watching and viewing how teens are driving, it’s also about keeping them honest as they know their driving habits are being watched. As most people who use typical dash cams, it’s about what the camera picks up on the road. This was about more than that.
It can easily be used as a teaching and training tool, which is what I liked the most about Raven Connected. Showing how often there was harsh braking and aggressive acceleration meant it was time to teach more driving skills. Using the information the app delivers became a huge teaching tool. It showed where driving needs improvement. Slowing early by easing off the accelerator can save wear and tear on the brakes and can improve fuel economy. Late braking and harsh acceleration does the complete opposite. The proof was in the statistics.
I was able to monitor the type of driving which was done previously and not just while they were driving. The video was easily available and it was a quick switch to see inside the cabin or out on the road. It was important to place it on a section of the dash that gave the best view of both. The size of Raven Connected is slightly smaller than that of a rear view mirror, so it never really became a distraction. After time, it seemed to blend into the background of the driving compartment.
Other than using this with family, what about if you’re a fleet manager and have drivers traveling around with your vehicles or goods? Now you would know their driving tendencies. Not only can it be a monitoring system to see how responsible the driver is, it can also be used to help improve their driving and save operating costs for either company or the driver. The future is here. It’s now time to embrace technology.