E-SMART debuts new smart seat belt

INDIANAPOLIS — Dynamic speed management provider E-SMART has rolled out a new safety feature: The E-SMART Seat Belt.

Customizable by fleets, E-SMART Seat Belt detects if the driver is not wearing the seat belt and limits (or slows the vehicle) to a predetermined speed, according to a news release.

“We saw the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that 69.3% of the drivers who died in crashes in 2022 were not wearing seat belts as heartbreaking,” said Joe Thell, senior vice president at E-SMART. “When asked by fleets to help solve this problem, we knew that our technology could make a difference in having drivers wear their seat belts. With E-SMART Seat Belt, we can detect and monitor seat belt use under different conditions. The fleet can then provide the operational rules of what happens under each condition.”

E-SMART Seat Belt addresses seat belt non-compliance in a variety of circumstances such as:

• General driving — When a driver is not wearing a seat belt the vehicle will not go above a nominal, set speed. These instances are also captured in an event report.
• Inside speed-controlled geofenced zones — Fleets can create custom parameters for zones (i.e. limiting speed). Reporting is also available for events in geofenced zones.
• Seat belt malfunction, or if it is removed while the vehicle is in motion are also part of the comprehensive and flexible solution.

“Announcing E-SMART Seat Belt as the summer traffic season begins and national safety initiatives such as Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement campaign has just concluded is timely,” Thell continued.  “We are pleased to do anything we can to help raise awareness and reduce injuries and fatalities that could be avoided by simply buckling a seat belt. “E-SMART Seat Belt is just one more example of how our incredibly powerful Dynamic Speed Management technology can be applied in unique ways to improve driver and public safety.”

John Worthen

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.