At Amazon, safety is a top priority across all operations, especially on the road. We continually innovate and improve safety technology features in our delivery trucks and vans to ensure the safety of our partners and communities where we deliver.
Ensuring roadway safety is a complex challenge that requires leadership from both the public and private sectors. Amazon has been at the forefront of investing in innovative safety technologies, committing $200 million to the cause. Through these investments, Amazon aims to reduce crash frequency and severity, ensuring the safety of both their vehicles and delivery partners. Moreover, the technology created and innovations spearheaded by industry partners can also benefit the environment.
As part of our commitment to safety, we are investing in various tech-based safety and sustainability solutions this year. Here are some of the solutions Amazon is working on:
Udit Madan – Vice President of Amazon Transportation
Trucking Network
We prioritize safety in our middle mile trucking network by equipping it with leading safety technology, including automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. Our trailers are also outfitted with sensors to monitor various systems, and our route-planning navigation systems use predictive analytics software to monitor fleet safety better. In addition, we use Relay, our mobile technology that connects carriers and drivers to Amazon, to provide navigation assistance, real-time driver-facing alerts, safety performance summaries, and additional safety learning.
Delivery Network
We’re constantly striving to improve safety measures and have expanded our in-vehicle camera safety technology to reduce unsafe behaviour in real time. This technology has already resulted in a 35% reduction in accidents since its rollout to Amazon-branded delivery vans in the US in 2020. By April 2023, almost all Amazon-branded vehicles will have this technology installed. The technology is also integrated into our custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian, which include a 360-degree camera system, emergency braking, rollaway detection, and more. Our Fleet Edge technology leverages data to improve our routing software, increasing GPS accuracy by over 2.5 times and benefiting drivers, communities, and the planet.
Cutting Edge Safety Technology
Amazon pilots cutting-edge technologies to stay at the forefront of transportation safety. For example, we are currently testing strobing brake light technology in some of our trailers to enhance visibility during braking and potentially reduce rear-end collisions by up to 30%. Additionally, we are deploying a new safety feature later this year that uses digital side mirror camera technology to reduce blind spots and improve the safety of our trucks. As we continue to test new technologies and evaluate their safety efficacy, we will make data-driven decisions on whether and how to deploy these and other safety innovations across our fleet.
We are proud of the strides we have taken so far in enhancing safety and sustainability and remain enthusiastic about the prospects of our ongoing investments in 2023. Our commitment to continuously improve on safety and sustainability is unwavering, and we will persist in investing and innovating to guarantee that our drivers, trucks, delivery vans, and trailers remain among the safest on the road.
