Allergy season can take a toll on drivers, causing sneezing, watery eyes, and drowsiness—factors that compromise road safety. The Samsara dashboard, Samsara Driver App, and AI Dash Cam features help reduce these risks with real-time monitoring, alerts, and driver workflows.
With the right precautions and technology, your drivers don’t have to suffer through the season of sneezing. By understanding these key features, you can help keep drivers safer, more alert, and focused on the road ahead. Here’s to clear roads, clear air, and making it through allergy season safely.
With warmer temperatures, many drivers will open windows and enjoy the breeze—despite the sneeze-inducing particles that come with it. Incorporating allergen-reducing steps into daily workflows can help sensitive sinuses stay comfortable on the road.
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Clean the Cab Regularly: Wipe down seats, dashboards, and surfaces with allergen-reducing cleaners to prevent buildup.
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Check and Replace HEPA Filters: Ensure air filters are trapping pollen and allergens—replace them as needed.
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Manage Ventilation: Keep windows closed on high-pollen days and use A/C with clean filters for better air quality.
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Inspect Air Quality in DVIRs: Update Daily Vehicle Inspections to include air filters and vents, and report any blockages.
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Manage Clothing: Encourage drivers to remove and wash pollen-covered clothing after long periods outside.
Seasonal symptoms don’t just cause discomfort—they slow reaction time and increase risky driving behaviors. Samsara AI Dash Cams and Vehicle Gateways work together to detect and prevent risks before they become accidents.
Fleet managers should regularly check the Safety Overview and Safety Risk Factor Reports to spot weekly increases in unsafe behaviors, both fleet-wide and for individual drivers.
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Drowsiness & Distraction Alerts: Alert drivers and safety managers to prolonged eye closure, excessive blinking, and head nodding.
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Harsh Driving Detection: Stay on top of increases in harsh braking and turns, especially for drivers in areas with heavy pollen counts.
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Immediate In-Cab Nudges™: Notify drivers the moment unsafe behaviors occur, helping them self-correct.
If you have Vehicle Gateways, explore these features to help monitor driver behavior:
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Harsh Braking & Harsh Turns: Delayed reactions can lead to late braking and fatigue or sneezing fits may lead to erratic driving patterns.
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Review speeding settings: Allergy-induced grogginess can cause unintentional speeding, which gateways detect in real time.
AI Dash Cams use advanced algorithms to monitor driver behavior, detecting signs of drowsiness like head nodding, prolonged eye closure, and yawning.
Drowsiness Detection identifies behaviors such as:
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Increased Blinking: Watery, itchy eyes can make drivers blink excessively.
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Prolonged Eye Closure: Fatigue can cause dangerously long blinks.
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Yawning Detection: Medication and poor sleep from congestion can cause yawning.
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Head Nodding: Seasonal fatigue can cause subtle but risky head drops.
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Rubbing Eyes or Face: Itchy eyes may lead to frequent rubbing, distracting drivers.
Drowsy driving incident alerts are sent to the Safety Inbox for managerial review and do not impact the driver’s Safety Score. We recommend you set up audio alerts to deliver immediate notifications to drivers through the camera, Driver App, or via text message.
Drowsy driving and delayed reactions increase the risk of accidents. If a crash occurs, AI Dash Cams automatically upload footage, helping fleet managers understand what happened and exonerate drivers when they’re not at fault.
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Check the Safety Inbox: Crashes generate incidents with video, location data, and reports for quick review.
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Retrieve Video Footage: Look for signs of fatigue, sneezing fits, or distraction leading up to the crash.
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Examine the Speed Graph: Identify delayed braking, sudden stops, or inconsistent speed caused by allergy symptoms or medication.
With clear video evidence and speed tracking, fleets can protect drivers, reduce false claims, and improve safety. Here’s to clear roads, clear air, and making it through allergy season incident-free.
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