EnviroServ is reaffirming its commitment to road safety with substantial AI-enabled system investment. For the company, keeping drivers safe and ensuring they return home to their families at the end of every workday is more than a priority; it is a core responsibility.
Road safety in South Africa has always been a concern. Recently, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa announced the department’s plan to reduce road fatalities by 45% by 2029 and 50% by 2030 as part of its priority targets for the next four years. While road fatalities have improved with a 9% reduction from January to August 2026 compared to 6.2% reduction in 2025, to sustain these results, road safety requires collaborative efforts from industry and government to make these targets a reality.
We have invested in machine vision and AI-enabled in-cab cameras and advanced telematics to identify high-risk behaviours before it becomes an incident. Drivers receive in CAB alerts when they follow another vehicle too closely, use a cell phone, become inattentive or fail to wear a seatbelt. Furthermore, enhanced video quality and connectivity provide fleet teams with greater visibility of emerging risks, enabling quicker intervention, focused coaching and more effective fleet management. Drivers are allocated to events ensuring that driving behaviour is recorded and that coaching is directed where it can make the greatest difference. In this way, data becomes practical action - supporting safer choices and lasting improvements behind the wheel.
Protection extends beyond driving behaviour. Every EnviroServ truck tablet is equipped with a safety and security assistance app. With one touch of an emergency button, a driver can share the vehicle’s location with the security company, which immediately contacts the driver to assess the threat or dispatch assistance. If the driver becomes a victim of crime or experiences a breakdown or another roadside emergency, help can be mobilised when every second counts.
Research is revealing the importance of AI powered resources that improve road safety and how effective they are. A 2023 case study in the United Arab Emirates indicated a 47.3% reduction in accidents caused by distracted driving, including those related to mobile phone use and seatbelt violations. In addition, zero fatalities from red-light violations were achieved; a 30% decrease in crashes/incidents caused by insufficient space between vehicles (tailgating) over the 3-years and an 83% reduction in high-risk drivers with the number of high-risk drivers decreasing from 4,780 in 2019 to 812 in 2023.
The results show that proactive safety measures make a real difference. In the last 3 months machine vision and AI in CAB alert triggers for not wearing a seatbelt, inattentive driving and for following another vehicle too closely decreased between 45%-50%. An interesting finding our data also revealed that near collisions occurred most often at around 1pm. While the data does not indicate the cause, the pattern highlights the importance of considering factors such as fatigue, concentration and meal breaks when managing driver risk. These insights allow us to intervene more precisely, coach more effectively and help our drivers make safer decisions on every journey.
By combining intelligent technology, immediate support and data-led coaching, EnviroServ is working to prevent incidents, strengthen South Africa’s culture of road safety and ensure that every member of its logistics team gets home safely at the end of every shift.
Ryan Hendry, Business Improvement Manager at EnviroServ
