The Samsara AI Dash Cams (models CM31 and CM32) can detect unsafe following distance, often referred to as tailgating. Following Distance AI Event Detection helps you improve driver safety by sending optional in-cab alerts to encourage drivers to increase following distance. Dash cams use a combination of distance estimation and current speed data to detect unsafe following behavior in real-time.
Each unsafe Following Distance detection impacts the driver safety score and triggers an upload of a 10 second safety event to the Safety Inbox starting from 5 seconds before the alert triggers and ends 5 seconds after the alert triggers.
When you Configure Following Distance Detection, as with other harsh events, you can customize the thresholds and alerts for the event:
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Thresholds: By default, a Following Distance safety event is raised at speeds greater than 45 mph with a following distance of 1 sec or less for a minimum duration of 30 sec. You can modify these thresholds when you configure the detection.
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Driver Alerts: To enable in-cab audio for an individual vehicle, you must also Configure Following Distance Detection for the alert to trigger.
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Other Alerts: As with other harsh event alerts, you can create a real-time alert to send notifications in email or using SMS when an unsafe Following Distance event occurs.
When the dash cam detects an unsafe following distance while the vehicle speed is greater than the configured speed threshold and longer than the unsafe behavior duration, the dash cam can play an optional in-cab audio alert to help notify drivers to maintain a safe following distance. By default, in-cab audio alerts are disabled and a Following Distance safety event is created at speeds greater than 45mph with a following distance of 1sec or less for a minimum duration of 30sec.
To enable Following Distance Detection and configure in-cab audio alerts, the speed threshold, and unsafe behavior duration, perform the following workflow:
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Before you enable Following Distance Detection, review the recommendations for AI Event Detection and Enable and Configure AI Event Detection.
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Select the Settings icon (
) at the bottom of your Fleet menu to view dashboard settings. -
From Fleet, select Safety > AI Event Detection.
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Enable Following Distance Detection.
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Configure the Following Distance Detection settings:
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In-cab audio alerts: Choose
ONto play in-cab audio alerts when Samsara detects an unsafe following distance. By default, in-cab audio alerts areOFF. -
Speed Threshold: The speed that the vehicle must be driving before an in-cab alert triggers and a Safety Inbox event uploads (35 mph, 45 mph (default), or 55 mph). Increasing the speed threshold reduces the volume of events and decreasing the speed threshold increases the volume of events. Samsara uploads a maximum of 5 events per hour to the Safety Inbox.
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Duration: Length of time that the dash cam detects the unsafe driving behavior before it reports the Unsafe Following Distance event (15 seconds, 30 seconds (default), or 60 seconds).
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Distance Seconds: Vehicle following distance, measured in seconds from the object (by default, 0.7 seconds, configurable in 0.1 second intervals from .5 seconds to 1.5 seconds).
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Save to confirm the setting.
Your cameras automatically calibrate for Following Distance Detection.
After you enable Following Distance detection, your cameras automatically determine camera height and calibrate the cameras. During this time, vehicles must operate for approximately 30 min at speeds greater than 45 mph to enable the calibration process to complete.
If enabled and the dash cam is not calibrated, the vehicle receives an in-cab audio alert for Following Distance; however, the event is automatically marked with a Dismissed status (Safety > Safety Inbox > Dismissed) in the Samsara dashboard.
To adjust the camera height or to perform the camera calibration manually, see Camera Calibration.
