Summary
- C.R. England sought proactive solutions to reduce accidents and improve driver safety across thousands of trucks.
- Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) provided in-cab alerts for hazards, speed, weather, and customer sites, plus geo-fencing analytics.
- Since 2019, the fleet has nearly halved chargeable accidents per million miles, with drivers responding proactively to alerts.
Safe and Dedicated to Service
C.R. England is one of the industry’s most respected carriers with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1920. The privately owned company is in its fourth generation of family ownership and has grown to become one of the largest refrigerated and general freight carriers in North America with more than 4,000 tractors in operation.
“Safety and Service” is a core value that guides the decisions C.R. England makes each and every day. Technology plays an important role in the company’s mantra: “Safe and on-time, every time.”
The Challenge
While C.R. England boasts better than average incident rates, the company is committed to trying new technology to continuously improve its safety programs and reduce driver-related incidents. With thousands of trucks running across North America, drivers frequently encounter unfamiliar roads, bridges, extreme weather, and new customer locations. Even for the most experienced drivers, the unknowns on the road ahead can create challenges.
C.R. England has been using dash cameras to record and monitor driving behavior, but the company sought out a proactive solution that would help inform drivers of potential hazards ahead of time so they could adjust their driving behavior accordingly.
“The ability to have configurable, proactive driver notifications has been a big value add to us.”
Colin England, Director of Accident Prevention, C.R. England
The Solution
Several years ago, C.R. England began a relationship with Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) when the company started using its weigh station bypass service to save time and money associated with vehicle downtime from pulling into weigh stations. In 2020, Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) launched a new service, Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze), which allows companies to provide drivers with proactive in-cab safety alerts for upcoming road hazards. It was a service C.R. England was quick to adopt.
The Results
Through Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze), C.R England provides proactive in-cab notifications to its drivers on upcoming road hazards, such as low bridges, areas known for truck rollovers, severe weather, high citation areas for speeding, and more. The company also creates custom safety alerts to meet specific needs of its operation, such as customer site alerts to encourage safe practices at customer locations. C.R England can track driver behavior in response to the alerts and then coach drivers based on results.
Since 2019, C.R. England has come close to cutting in half its chargeable accidents per million miles. Much of that success can be attributed to the company’s ability to leverage technology, Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) and dash-cam technology, to assist with its overall safety programs. England said the ability to develop its own custom alerts, through the Safety+ platform, is what has the company sold on Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze).
“At a customer location in a small town, we were continually nicking our trucks on a building in a tight corridor. We put in a custom alert, so when any driver neared that area, paid more attention. We haven’t had an incident there since.”
Colin England, Director of Accident Prevention, C.R. England
Speed is another risk factor when it comes to accidents for fleets, and it’s no different at C.R. England. Data from the Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) has shown that a driver that receives a speed violation alert is twice as likely to slow down than one that doesn’t. “We’re being very proactive in this area as we know speed is a major influencer in accidents,” said England.
“Through Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) and our camera system we have two ways to coach drivers. With Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) we can geo-fence areas of concern and see how individual drivers react. We can grab a screenshot from the Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) hub and show performance to a driver, it’s a coachable moment. Likewise, with our camera system we can use video footage and data from our camera system to coach our drivers and help them improve.”
C.R. England was also an innovator in creating custom weather alerts. According to Gerardo Granados, “When we started using Safety+, we took advantage of geo-fencing for weather. We began to identify our busiest lanes, providing our own weather alerts for our drivers, taking info from the National Weather Service, and other sources. The alerts were well received, and they provided ‘foresight’ minimizing risk for our drivers is something we’re always trying to do. Drivers have a tough job with traffic, weather, and delivery windows. Anything we can do to help them, we want to do.”
When C.R. England told Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) about weather alerts, Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) put its development team to work on a new function of Safety+ adding Severe Weather Alerts to its offering. Now, Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) monitors incoming severe weather alerts from a national weather service agency, then geo-fences hazardous areas. “That’s been a great complimentary tool that we use, along with our own custom weather alerts,” said Granados. “Weather can turn on a dime, so the more information we can feed to drivers to prepare them, the better.”
“Drivers have a tough job with traffic, weather, and delivery windows. Anything we can do to help them, we want to do.”
Gerardo Granados, Safety Department, C.R. England
England and his team continue to probe new ways to improve safety and the custom alerts through Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) help them do that. For example, they’re looking at adding lane restrictions alerts to help make sure drivers never get caught in the wrong lane which could lead to a citation.
“We’ve done a great job of reducing our accident rate. That’s a credit to the technology we’re using, the drivers and staff we’ve employed, and our company’s culture. We plan to continue that success.”
Colin England, Director of Accident Prevention, C.R. England
FAQs
How did C.R. England nearly cut its chargeable accidents per million miles in half, and what tools did they use to do it?
Since 2019, C.R. England has nearly halved its chargeable accidents per million miles by combining Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) in-cab alerts with targeted driver coaching and dash-cam review. The team used geo-fenced alerts for hazards like speed enforcement zones, low bridges, rollover areas, severe weather, and customer site risks, then monitored driver responses to coach specific behaviors. Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) supported operations by saving time at weigh stations, while Safety+ addressed on-road risk in real time.
What is Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze), and how do its in-cab alerts (speed, weather, low bridges, rollover zones) improve fleet safety?
Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) delivers proactive in-cab alerts for upcoming hazards, including speed enforcement areas, severe weather, low bridges, and rollover zones. Fleets can add custom, geo-fenced alerts for unique risks, such as tight customer-site corridors. Drivers receive timely cues to adjust speed or lane position, and managers can review analytics to reinforce safe habits.
Examples of custom geo-fenced alerts a trucking fleet can create for customer sites and high-risk areas.
Fleets can set geo-fenced alerts for tight customer-site approaches, such as narrow corridors or building pinch points, to prompt extra caution. Other examples include low-bridge warnings, rollover-prone curves, high citation areas for speeding, and severe weather zones. C.R. England also explores lane restriction alerts to prevent drivers from entering prohibited lanes.
Do speed violation alerts actually lead truck drivers to slow down? Any data from large fleets?
Yes. Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) data cited by C.R. England shows that drivers who receive a speed violation alert are twice as likely to slow down compared to those who do not. C.R. England deploys these alerts across thousands of trucks and uses the response data in coaching.
How can I combine dash cams with Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) to coach drivers and reduce incidents?
Use Safety+ to create geo-fenced alerts for known risk areas, then review driver responses in the Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) hub. Pair those analytics with dash-cam video to provide context during coaching sessions and highlight specific moments to reinforce safe decisions. Share hub screenshots and footage with drivers as “coachable moments,” then track changes over time to confirm improvement.
Steps to roll out severe weather alerts across a North American fleet using Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) and National Weather Service data.
Identify your busiest lanes and weather hotspots, then configure geo-fenced alerts in Safety+ using National Weather Service information. Enable Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) Severe Weather Alerts, which automatically monitors national alerts and geo-fences hazardous areas. Pilot the alerts on select lanes, gather driver feedback, refine thresholds or messaging, and then expand network-wide. Monitor driver responses in the hub and adjust alert zones as conditions or routes change.
Case study summary: results and lessons from C.R. England’s use of Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze).
Operating 4,000+ tractors across North America, C.R. England paired Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) for weigh station bypass with Safety+ proactive alerts and custom geofences. Since 2019, the fleet has nearly cut chargeable accidents per million miles in half, with drivers responding proactively to alerts. Custom site alerts ended recurring nicks at a tight customer location, and weather alerts—first custom-built, later complemented by Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) Severe Weather Alerts, helped drivers prepare earlier. The key lesson: combine real-time alerts, analytics, and dash-cam coaching within a safety-first culture.
Tools and methods to warn drivers about low bridges, tight corridors at customer sites, and other on-route hazards.
Use Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) in-cab alerts and create geo-fenced zones around known hazards, including low bridges, rollover curves, and narrow customer approaches. Add severe weather alerts using Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) or National Weather Service data to prepare drivers ahead of storms. Monitor driver responses in the hub to validate effectiveness and refine alert placement.
How do geo-fencing analytics help monitor driver responses to alerts and create coachable moments?
Safety+ geo-fencing analytics show how individual drivers respond when entering defined risk zones. Managers can capture hub screenshots of speed changes or compliance and review them with drivers to reinforce safe behavior. This turns real-world events into targeted, timely coaching that’s easy to understand and act on.
What are the safety and operational benefits of pairing weigh station bypass with proactive in-cab safety alerts?
Weigh Station Bypass (Formerly Drivewyze) reduces time and fuel spent at weigh stations, while Safety+ warns drivers of hazards ahead so they can adjust early. The combination improves productivity and lowers incident risk, supported by analytics that guide ongoing coaching. C.R. England’s experience shows the pairing can materially reduce accidents while streamlining operations.