Did you know the first idea for a rearview mirror was seen in 1904 when it was used on a horse-drawn carriage? While there is also mention of the concept in a 1909 book titled The Woman and the Car, the earliest known use of a car-mounted edition was at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 race in 1911 by Ray Haroun. Haroun opted to forego the usual second man "riding mechanic" in the car in favor of the mounted mirror. While the mirror was rendered largely useless due to the constant vibration from the rough brick surface of the racetrack, Haroun went on to win the race.

As we look ahead to 2022 through this ongoing pandemic, we can't lose sight of the importance of road safety and protecting employees, their family members, and ALL members of the community. In closing out the year, I want to take a moment to THANK all of you who have worked so tirelessly in your road safety efforts and will continue to do so in the new year: NETS Board of Directors, Members, and Sponsors; NETS U.S. and Global Partner organizations; and countless others who play a vital role in advancing the mission. I am excited for many new and continued partnerships and road safety initiatives in the coming year.

As a continuation from the October 2021 sector meeting in conjunction with NETS annual conference, join us on Wednesday, January 26th for the next NETS Virtual Agriculture Sector Meeting* to share best practices and discuss fleet safety issues relevant to the agriculture sector.

eDriving, a Solera company, helps organizations around the world to reduce incidents, collisions, injuries, license violations, carbon emissions, and total cost of fleet ownership through its patented digital driver risk management programs.

At its heart is the Mentor by eDrivingSM smartphone app that identifies risky driving behaviors for intervention and safe driving habits for recognition. In-app features include micro-training and coaching, gamification, collision reporting, vehicle inspections, and an individual FICO® Safe Driving Score validated to predict the likelihood of being involved in a collision. Mentor’s integrated automatic crash detection and Personal SOS features powered by Sfara and Bosch trigger a voice call and emergency support, as needed, from one of Bosch’s Global Call Centers supporting >50 countries. Through its five-stage, patented Crash-Free Culture® risk reduction methodology, eDriving helps organizations embrace safety and reduce risk for Sales, Service, Delivery and Warehouse drivers, all within a privacy-first, data-secure environment.

eDriving is the digital driver risk management partner of choice for many of the world’s largest organizations, supporting over 1.2 million drivers in 125 countries. Over the past 25 years, eDriving’s research-validated programs have been recognized with over 100 awards around the world.

Mobile device distractions put employees in danger and companies at risk. So why would anyone settle for safety measures that simply report what went wrong, or only work when people remember to turn them on? TRUCE Software automatically suspends distracting mobile apps and functions depending on what your employee is doing, where they are working or even the workgroup they are part of. You define the policy and TRUCE ensures compliance when and where it’s needed. Supporting more than 100,000 subscribers and some of the largest brands worldwide, our patented technology is making workplaces everywhere safer.

Learn about all of NETS Fleet Safety Sponsors

Do you have a particularly successful road safety example to share? NETS Members are encouraged to share best practices, ask questions or contribute their expertise to the NETS Road Safety Leaders Forum, an online discussion forum exclusively for NETS Members and Sponsors. Not yet a member? Check out the benefits at https://trafficsafety.org/membership-info/.