Traffilog is a vehicle data recording system used by National Express on all their coaches. This technology has many functions like GPS tracking and interior coach temperature recording. It is also used to record driver performance and monitors braking, acceleration, cornering and engine idling. Each driver has a Traffilog score depending on how well he has driven the coach. Every passenger comfort event is given a point, the more points against a driver lowers his grading. No or just a few points would give a Gold grading. A small amount of points would give a Green rating. A fair amount of points would give an Amber rating and a lot of points a Red grading.
This colour coded Traffilog grading system is then used by managers to discipline drivers. The goal is to ensure all drivers give their passengers a comfortable ride. However, Traffilog is a dumb system that does not work in the real world.
Driver - Brakes - Acceleration - Turns - Idling - Grade
A 3 0 5 1 Gold
B 1 1 2 1 Green
Surely driver A with more sharp braking and turns should have a higher score and a Green grading plus driver B with less sharp braking and turns should have a Gold grading. That would be a fair assessment of the data. Traffilog rates highly events of high acceleration. But high acceleration is simply not possible in a coach with a 9 litre engine pulling an unladen weight of 13,570 kgs. Therefore these acceleration events are FALSE. What happens is the automatic gearbox changes as the coach is going uphill and Traffilog records this as a surge. Traffilog penalizes drivers who drive comfortably and have done nothing wrong. Traffilog does not grade drivers fairly.
I think National Express have been sold a pup with this Traffilog motion sensor technology as the above grading example clearly shows.
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