Lytx, a provider of machine vision and artificial intelligence-powered video telematics, analytics, safety, and productivity solutions for commercial, public sector, and field service fleets, announced that Ruan Transportation Management Systems has signed on to deploy the Lytx Driver Safety Program across its fleet of more than 3,000-vehicles, including tractors, maintenance trucks, and company cars.

Founded in 1932, Des Moines, Ill.-based Ruan is a family-owned transportation management company, providing dedicated contract transportation, managed transportation, and value-added warehousing to customers across the country at more than 300 operations.

The decision came out of a competitive, nine-month trial evaluating Lytx against other telematics providers.

"The trial came down to demonstrating competitive differentiation across the board," said Chad Willis, Ruan's Senior Vice President, Safety, Compliance, and Support Services. "Lytx showed us excellent technology at a good price, as well as customer references who vouched for their ability to effectively deploy at scale."

Ruan is deploying Lytx as part of its Megasafe Safety Program, which empowers their people to build on a safety culture that spans the company's many divisions and teams. Through the Megasafe program, Ruan ensures team members have the safest equipment, ongoing training, and guidance from Ruan's proprietary Megasafe7 Rules of Safe Driving.

"Lytx technology helps give us visibility to the challenges our team members are facing and, in turn, coach them as necessary to reduce risk, prevent accidents, and save lives. We are also able to recognize them for reacting in the most professional ways to the unsafe actions of others sharing the roadways," said Willis. "There is nothing more important to us than ensuring our people get home safely, and Lytx is helping this happen in a way that is respectful of our team members' privacy in their workspaces."

Several factors contributed to Ruan's decision to deploy video safety technology.

"This decision was driven by Ruan's unwavering commitment to provide the safest workplace in our industry, especially as our team members navigate roadways occupied by an increasingly distracted motoring public," Willis said. "It was also motivated by the obligation and privilege we enjoy enhancing and protecting our customers' brands."

Lytx and Ruan started working together several years ago with a small-scale deployment at a single site. Later, in December of 2019, Ruan signed on to a trial of the innovative new Lytx SF300 DriveCam Event Recorders.

The SF300 pairs machine vision with artificial intelligence (MV+AI) to accurately identify and categorize moments that matter on the road, including distracted driving. The most recent update includes triggers for "inattentiveness," when a driver's attention may be unfocused or they may be experiencing drowsiness, as well as real-time, in-cab alerts for five different risky driving behaviors: cell phone use, eating and drinking, smoking, no seat belt, speeding, and inattentiveness.