Thailand’s the world’s 2nd most dangerous place for drivers. This might be the solution

The internet of things (IoT) revolution is something that most people are still waiting for. We hear the term and think smart homes, where we can say “chill out” both to lower the temperature and change music genres on the sound system. Or we think shirts that tell us if our heart rate has gone up and also if we have unread emails.

But the reality is that IoT is already in a lot of different industries, changing them slowly but fundamentally. Thailand-based startup Drvr (pronounced “driver”) is putting the technology to use in fleet management for logistics companies using telematics – technology used in devices for sending and receiving information remotely. In moving vehicles, this information can include navigation and monitoring.

Through Drvr’s platform, businesses can monitor their fleet in real-time and glean insights using built-in data analytics capabilities. “We use various types of sensors on vehicles to capture data from them,” David Henderson, co-founder and CEO of Drvr, tells Tech in Asia. “Then we do some deep analysis of that data and try to identify patterns.”

An analytics engine uses the data gathered by the sensor devices to provide insights into things like vehicle performance, driver behavior, traffic information, and so on. A mobile and web app allows the company’s customers to keep track of their vehicles. By tracking a given fleet, the startup can then come up with conclusions and recommendations that help optimize how it is used. This helps reduce costs for its customers. It also helps alleviate traffic and promote environment-friendly driving.

Safer roads through tech

Drvr is currently focused primarily in Cambodia and Myanmar – it just launched its product and is serving customers in the latter. It is also running pilots with clients in Thailand and is eyeing other territories in Southeast Asia. Entering these markets has provided the team with unique challenges, but also opportunities for their offering to make a difference.

For example, a huge issue in the logistics space in Thailand and Myanmar is fuel theft. Some truck drivers will literally stop mid-trip and drain some of their vehicle’s fuel for their own use. The practice is so widespread that logistics companies already anticipate it and hence, reduce their drivers’ pay. Drvr hopes that, by tracking the vehicles and detecting such discrepancies, it can discourage this kind of behavior.

Road safety is another opportunity for Drvr to make its mark. Thailand has an unfortunate claim to the title of “second most dangerous place in the world to drive in,” with 44 deaths per 100,000 people according to a study by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute [PDF]. “Many of those accidents involve trucks and motorcycles,” David says. “There is a lot we can do to help prevent that.”

Another use case, which the company is looking into, involves sensors for refrigerated trucks that keep track of the cargo’s temperature to help avoid spoilage. It’s part of Drvr’s mission to gather as much data as it can and use it to provide solutions and insights. “The reason we’ve been doing these pilots is we want to learn from our customers and improve our services as we go along,” David says.

Data-driven opportunity

Drvr was born out of David’s and co-founder Eugene Peresada’s expertise in this space. Both were working at vehicle telematics firm Intelematics in Australia. The pair, along with co-founder and Drvr CFO Damien Williams, initially tried their hand at usage-based insurance, which bases costs on data from the drivers and vehicles. But the market for this proved hard to crack, which prompted a pivot for Drvr and a move to Thailand.

“The team was split over this [decision],” David says. “We said we’ll go for three months, see if we can get traction.”

Now, with some pilots in place and a launch in Myanmar, the team’s decision seems to have been the right one, for a lot of reasons such as timing.

“There is really a vacuum for telematics,” says Dana Blouin, IoT expert and chief data scientist at Drvr, who was based in Thailand before Drvr landed. “I really think it’s the right time for this type of platform in Southeast Asia, and the technology is at the right place for us to grow. Vehicle ownership is on the rise, the fleets are growing because other companies are expanding their services.”