Contextual driver behavior monitoring

• US 10,543,847 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2017
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Imaging Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Imaging Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Heath, Brian, Malkin, Wayne Allan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US15/833,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20180170397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 340438, 340439, 340441, 340905, 3404255, 340471, 34099527, 701117, 701408, 701200, 701201, 701207, 701411, 701425, 434236, 705317
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A database of high risk locations is formed and high risk causal factors for the high risk locations determined. Driver behavior is monitored at the sites in the database using data collection devices such as electronic logging devices or mobile phones to see if the drivers exhibit the same specific behaviors that are considered contributing factors to specific accident types at risk of occurrence at those sites. Warnings are provided to drivers approaching the specific sites to prompt behavioral changes which may further be monitored by the data collection devices.

Claims

1. A method of driver risk assessment, comprising:

maintaining a database of high risk locations, in which database each high risk location is associated with driver behaviors that are considered high risk in relation to the respective high risk location;

collecting driver behavior data for a vehicle that is indicative of driver behavior at a high risk location that is included in the database, using a data collection device in the vehicle;

comparing the driver behavior data to the driver behaviors considered high risk in relation to the high risk location to determine a value or values representing driver risk; and

flagging a driver whose driver risk value or values exceed predetermined risk criteria,

in which maintaining the database of high risk locations comprises adding high risk locations to the database based on data indicative of risk collected by the data collection device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the data collection device detecting that the vehicle is approaching a high risk location of the database of high risk locations, and on the data collection device detecting that the vehicle is approaching the high risk location, displaying a visual warning to the driver of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 in which data collected by the data collection device is transmitted to a server based on the data collection device detecting a risk-indicative condition.

4. A method of improving driver safety, comprising:

maintaining a database of high risk locations;

monitoring a location of a vehicle using a data collection device in the vehicle; and

providing a visual warning display to a driver of the vehicle on the vehicle approaching a high risk location recorded in the database of high risk locations,

in which maintaining the database of high risk locations comprises adding high risk locations to the database based on data indicative of risk collected by the data collection device.

5. The method of claim 4 in which each high risk location recorded in the database of high risk locations is associated with driver behaviors considered to be high risk in relation to the respective high risk location, the method further comprising the steps of:

collecting driver behavior data that is indicative of driver behavior at a high risk location that is included in the database using the data collection device;

comparing the driver behavior data to the driver behaviors considered high risk in relation to the high risk location to determine a value or values representing driver risk; and

flagging a driver whose driver risk value or values exceed predetermined risk criteria.

6. The method of claim 5 in which the visual warning comprises driving instructions.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising contextual modification of the driving instructions based on instantaneous measurement of vehicle and driver status.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising displaying the driving instructions based on vehicle speed exceeding a specified limit, or based on driver hours of service (HOS) data exceeding a given threshold.

9. The method of claim 4 in which the visual warning display comprises driving instructions.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising contextual modification of the driving instructions based on instantaneous measurement of vehicle and driver status.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising displaying the driving instructions based on vehicle speed exceeding a specified limit, or based on driver hours of service (HOS) data exceeding a given threshold.

12. The method of claim 4 in which data collected by the data collection device is transmitted to a server based on the data collection device detecting a risk-indicative condition.