Following Distance Detection

Samsara’s AI dash cameras can detect tailgating or unsafe following behavior at speeds >45mph (speed threshold can be configured to 35 mph or 55 mph). Following Distance is triggered if the camera detects a following distance of 1 second or less for a duration of 30 seconds (duration threshold can be configured to 15 seconds or 30 seconds). 

Driving behavior like below will be detected:

Once Following Distance is triggered, you’ll start to receive Safety Inbox events (a 10-second video with the label Following Distance).

If you've enabled In-Cab Audio Alerts for your fleet, your drivers will be proactively notified when Following Distance is detected. The alert to the driver is a voice that says “Increase following distance.”

Activating Following Distance

Step 1: Navigate to Settings >  Safety > Event Detection.

Step 2: Toggle the AI setting On. You will know it is on when the toggle turns green.

Step 3: Next, Toggle the Following Distance Detection setting On. You will know it is on when the toggle turns green.

Step 4: Your cameras will automatically start calibrating using automatic vanishing point detection. No action is required on your end. Vehicles must drive for approximately 30 minutes at speeds >45mph to enable the calibration process to complete. Vehicles that are not calibrated will not trigger Following Distance events. If you are testing the feature and need to trigger events before calibration is complete, you can manually set the vanishing point using the “Edit” flow described in this article. It’s recommended that after testing, vehicles that had the manual override are “reset” so that they will recalibrate automatically every 2 weeks.

Optional: The camera height will be automatically determined based on vehicle type. If you need to adjust the camera height, you can do so by going to the Individual Vehicle page.

Following Distance Settings

To access the Following Distance settings, navigate to Settings > Safety > Event Detection. You can adjust the speed and duration thresholds for Following Distance events here.

Changing these settings will impact the conditions that must be met before an in-cab alert is triggered and a Safety Inbox event is uploaded.

• Speed:

  • What is it? The speed that the vehicle must be driving at with a following distance of =< 1 second before an in-cab alert is triggered and a Safety Inbox event is uploaded.

  • Options: 35 mph, 45 mph [default], 55 mph

  • Increasing the speed threshold will reduce the volume of Following Distance events.

• Duration of following distance:

  • What is it? The amount of time that the vehicle must be following the vehicle ahead of them at =< 1 second before an in-cab alert is triggered and a Safety Inbox event is uploaded.

  • Options: 15 seconds, 30 seconds [default], 60 seconds

  • Details:

    • Regardless of the duration selected, the 10 second video will be centered on the moment of in-cab alert. This allows customers to see 5 seconds prior to the alert and 5 seconds after.

    • Increasing the duration threshold will reduce the volume of Following Distance events.

Known Limitations

Be aware of some false triggers for Following Distance that may occur due to inaccurate camera height settings.

If these false triggers occur, you can delete the label on the event in your Safety Inbox by clicking on the X next to Following Distance. 

Safety Score Impact

Following Distance will impact the driver’s safety score as a duration, meaning the % of drive time that the driver spends tailgating will be calculated and go against their score. Duration is used (rather than the raw count of following distance events) given the very high frequency of following distance events.

Following Distance will be one component of the AI Behavior noted in the Safety Score formula below:

The duration corresponding to Following Distance events that are dismissed will be removed from the score, and will not impact the driver’s safety score. Administrators can also edit the weight of following distance using the configuration options on the Cameras & Safety Setting page.