System and method for monitoring and improving driver behavior

• US 9,129,460 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inthinc Technology Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Inthinc Technology Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: McClellan, Scott, Catten, Jonathan C., Follmer, Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): NG, MICHAEL L
• Application Number:
  US11/768,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20080319602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,997 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/35, 701/29.1, 701/29.3, 701/29.6, 701/33, 701/36, 701/45, 701/33.6, 701/33.4, 701/32.1, 340/933, 340/438, 340/439
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096708 where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control

Abstract

System and method for providing feedback to drivers. The system monitors selected vehicle parameters while a vehicle is being driven, and detects one or more vehicle operation violations by comparing the selected vehicle parameters to predetermined thresholds. A mentoring message is provided to the driver if the threshold is exceeded. If a vehicle operation violation has not been corrected within a preselected time period, then a violation report may be sent to a third party or a central server and/or a different mentoring message may be provided to the driver. Vehicle parameter data may be monitored from an on-board vehicle diagnostic system. The mentoring message may be an audible warning, such as a spoken message, or a visual warning, such as a text message. The selected vehicle parameters may be a vehicle speed, a vehicle acceleration, or a vehicle seatbelt use.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for monitoring driver behavior and for providing corresponding feedback, the method comprising:

a computing system that includes at least one processor, monitoring at least one vehicle parameter during operation of a vehicle;

the computing system detecting a vehicle operation violation when the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds a corresponding threshold associated with the at least one vehicle parameter;

the computing system causing a first warning to be rendered to a driver at one or more feedback devices in the vehicle in response to detecting that the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds the corresponding threshold;

the computing system, in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected for a first predetermined period of time after the first warning is rendered, causing a corresponding report violation to be generated; and

the computing system, in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected after the first warning is rendered, causing a second warning to be rendered to the driver at the one or more feedback devices in the vehicle, wherein the second warning is rendered differently or is of a different type than the first warning.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes monitoring a plurality of different types of parameters associated with a plurality of different corresponding thresholds.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further includes generating a different type of alert for each different type of violation that occurs when the plurality of different types of parameters exceed the corresponding thresholds.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes a proximity of the vehicle to another vehicle.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes a fatigue level measured by at least a blink rate of the driver.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes ethanol detection.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes detected phone use.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes hard turns.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes accelerations.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes seat belt use.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second warning is rendered at a different volume than the first warning.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second warning is rendered with different content than the first warning.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second warning includes visual and aural warnings.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes increasing a frequency for rendering warnings over time as the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes setting the corresponding threshold from data obtained while monitoring the at least one vehicle parameter from the vehicle during a baseline period.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more feedback devices includes one or more speakers.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more feedback devices includes one or more visual feedback devices.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes sending the report to a third party.

19. A vehicle monitoring system comprising:

one or more sensors connected to a vehicle;

one or more feedback devices;

at least one processor; and

one or more monitoring devices connected to the one or more sensors, the one or more feedback devices and the at least one processor, the one or more monitoring devices being configured to implement a method for monitoring driver behavior detected by the one or more sensors and for providing corresponding feedback at the one or more feedback devices, wherein the method includes;

monitoring at least one vehicle parameter during operation of the vehicle;

detecting a vehicle operation violation when the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds a corresponding threshold associated with the at least one vehicle parameter;

causing a first warning to be rendered to a driver at the one or more feedback devices in the vehicle in response to detecting that the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds the corresponding threshold;

in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected for a first predetermined period of time after the first warning is rendered, causing a corresponding report violation to be generated; and

in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected after the first warning is rendered, causing a second warning to be rendered to the driver at the one or more feedback devices in the vehicle, wherein the second warning is rendered differently or is of a different type than the first warning.

20. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the method further includes monitoring a plurality of different types of parameters associated with a plurality of different corresponding thresholds.

21. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes detected phone use.

22. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 21, wherein the computer monitoring system is a distributed computing system.

23. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein the method further includes generating a different type of alert for each different type of violation that occurs when the plurality of different types of parameters exceed the corresponding thresholds.

24. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes a proximity of the vehicle to another vehicle.

25. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes a fatigue level measured by at least a blink rate of the driver.

26. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes ethanol detection.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes jack rabbit starts.

28. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the second warning is rendered at a different volume than the first warning.

29. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the second warning is rendered with different content than the first warning.

30. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the second warning includes visual and aural warnings.

31. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the method further includes increasing a frequency for rendering warnings over time as the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected.

32. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the method further includes setting the corresponding threshold from data obtained while monitoring the at least one vehicle parameter during a baseline period.

33. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the method includes sending the report to a third party.

34. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the computing system is a distributed computing system.

35. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the one or more feedback devices includes one or more speakers.

36. The vehicle monitoring system of claim 19, wherein the one or more feedback devices includes one or more lights.

37. A hardware storage device having stored computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a computer monitoring system, implement a method for the computer monitoring system monitoring driver behavior detected by one or more sensors and for providing corresponding feedback at one or more feedback devices, wherein the method includes:

the computer monitoring system monitoring at least one vehicle parameter during operation of the vehicle;

the computer monitoring system detecting a vehicle operation violation when the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds a corresponding threshold associated with the at least one vehicle parameter;

the computer monitoring system causing a first warning to be rendered to a driver at the one or more feedback devices in the vehicle in response to detecting that the at least one vehicle parameter exceeds the corresponding threshold;

the computer monitoring system, in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected for a first predetermined period of time after the first warning is rendered, causing a corresponding report violation to be generated; and

the computer monitoring system, in response to detecting that the vehicle operation violation continues to persist without being corrected after the first warning is rendered, causing a second warning to be rendered to the driver at the one or more feedback devices in the vehicle, wherein the second warning is rendered differently or is of a different type than the first warning.

38. The hardware storage device of claim 37, wherein the method further includes:

monitoring a plurality of different types of parameters associated with a plurality of different corresponding thresholds; and

generating a different type of alert for each different type of violation that occurs when the plurality of different types of parameters exceed the corresponding thresholds.

39. The hardware storage device of claim 38, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes at least one of proximity of the vehicle to another vehicle, jack rabbit starts or hard turns.

40. The hardware storage device of claim 38, wherein the plurality of different types of parameters includes at least one of driver fatigue level, ethanol detection, seat belt use or phone use.

41. The hardware storage device of claim 37, wherein the second warning is rendered differently than the first warning.

42. The hardware storage device of claim 37, wherein the second warning is of a different type than the first warning.

43. The hardware storage device of claim 37, wherein the method further includes setting the corresponding threshold based on monitoring the at least one vehicle parameter from the vehicle during a baseline period.

44. The hardware storage device of claim 37, wherein the method includes sending the report to a third party.