Project Summary
Esitu Solutions offers online and virtual reality driver assessment and training for professional drivers, encompassing HGV, bus, van, and emergency service drivers. The company’s primary goal is to improve driving skills and reduce risks through hazard perception tests and training. EsituDrive, the company’s bespoke online platform, allows real-time monitoring of driver performance and risk ratings. The assessments and training are based on over a decade of research conducted at Nottingham Trent University, as well as 12 peer-reviewed articles. By evaluating and training drivers, Esitu Solutions assists clients in reducing collision costs and insurance expenses, resulting in safer and more efficient fleets.
Project Achievements
• The project involved an intensive filming schedule where we filmed over 30 hours of footage from an ambulance on blue-light runs across the East Midlands. • The resultant footage was synchronised and edited into edited into a bespoke graphic overlay of a Fiat Ducatto. • The footage was then reviewed by our team of Traffic and Transport Psychologists to identify the most suitable footage. • A focus group of 9 experienced EMAS ambulance drivers then reviewed the footage. This guided the editing and selection of the final 25 clips. • We evaluated the assessment using 25 novice and 13 experienced ambulance drivers. • We also created a series of short training videos. EMAS’ head driver trainer provided an expert commentary for each video and key points of interest were highlighted to improve driver awareness of the vital clues when watching the videos.
Conclusions
Overall, the project received positive engagement and favourable feedback from EMAS and their drivers. From the data, we identified key characteristics of effective hazard assessment clips that can differentiate safe from less -safe ambulance drivers and produced initial training videos. The less successful clips offered valuable insights for improvement, especially regarding cut- points and driver options. It is, however, apparent that further iterations are needed to fine-tune the content before it can be deployed for commercial ambulance driver assessments.
Next Steps
• The encouraging feedback from EMAS and our strong collaborative partnership with them provides justification to preserve with further development of the materials. • Together with EMAS, we intend to submit a proposal for the Road Safety Trust’s open call, which has a maximum funding limit of £500k. • A successful grant would enable us to take our next steps towards further development. This includes creating additional clips, developing new video-based assessments beyond hazard prediction, and conducting further iterations of the edit-test-edit cycle involving a larger cohort of drivers. Grant success is never guaranteed and so we will also work with clients who are willing assist us in the evolution of our products. • The TRIG programme has allowed us as a company to strengthen our relationship with EMAS, making future collaborations with them possible.
