Ryder updates onboard truck monitoring

   Transportation and supply chain management company Ryder has launched the latest version of its RydeSmart onboard telematics system and now provides it as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product to make it easier to deploy and monitor.
   RydeSmart 3.0 offers GPS fleet location, tracking, and vehicle performance management via a hardware and software unit installed in the vehicle and connected to its existing computer and diagnostic system. RydeSmart wirelessly syncs with a Web application that can be accessed by fleet, safety and driver managers.
   The updated system has focused on enhancing driver analytics including safety monitoring and a playback of a 48-hour history. This also includes the ability to track vehicles at the street level.
   RydeSmart, originally launched in 2007, provides a system of information to drivers and their managers, but with new U.S. rules in place and research that points to accidents being linked to platforms that take drivers’ eyes off the road, Ryder and its competition will have to continue developing systems that require less direct reporting from drivers. — Geoff Whiting