Foodstuffs North Island doubles down on fleet safety with advanced camera technology

AutoSense Vision Focus provides reassurance for drivers and fleet managers

For more than five years, Guardian by Seeing Machines cameras have become the standard across the entire Foodstuffs North Island fleet, including all company-owned trucks and owner-driver units, and even overflow vehicles.

The driver safety system is proven to detect driver fatigue and distraction. Fleet Safety Manager Blair Inglis, says since April 2025 the business has doubled down and started introducing the pairing of Guardian cameras with AutoSense Vision Focus cameras, forward-facing cameras that are proven to exonerate drivers in incidents where they are not at fault.

“Guardian opened our eyes to the risks on the road, particularly driver fatigue,” says Inglis.

“AutoSense Vision Focus completes the picture and together we offer our drivers a best in class solution for fatigue and distraction with forward facing camera monitoring. These cameras don’t just capture what our drivers see — they protect them, too.”

Guardian’s strength lies in its real-time detection of microsleeps and distraction. When the system identifies a driver closing their eyes or nodding off, it triggers a vibration through the seat and an in-cab alarm to jolt the driver awake — potentially preventing a serious crash.

“Some of the most powerful footage we’ve seen is when a driver’s head starts to dip, their eyes close — and then the seat shakes, and they snap awake,” says Inglis. “You just think: what if that seat didn’t go off? That’s what hits you. That’s the moment you realise this technology is saving lives.”

Inglis says since 2019, there have been no major accidents where a Foodstuffs North Island driver is at fault.

He says AutoSense Vision Focus is a dual-camera system that captures continuous footage of both the road ahead and inside the cab. It works in real time, recording every journey and storing critical moments for later review. This footage provides crucial context in the event of an incident — whether it’s a near-miss, complaint, or crash—allowing fleet managers to determine what actually happened. The forward-facing view helps exonerate drivers in cases where public complaints or collisions occur, while the driver-facing camera can help identify distraction or aggressive behaviour. Footage is securely stored and accessible for immediate investigation.

“One of the key advantages of AutoSense Vision Focus is its exoneration capability, helping protect drivers when they’re not at fault, and helps to avoid court cases.

“We get complaints from time to time — it comes with the territory when a fleet of 300-plus vehicles is on the road every day,” says Inglis. “While we have just started installing a small number of Vision Focus cameras, if there’s an incident, Police can review the footage, and more often than not it shows our driver wasn’t to blame. In fact, we’ve used the footage a few times to clear drivers from accusations and resolve disputes within minutes.”

While Guardian is now a staple safety tool, its early rollout wasn’t without hurdles. Some owner-drivers were initially resistant, concerned about “Big Brother” watching them or feeling as though they were being spied on. “We heard things like ‘this won’t happen to me

— I’ve been in the game 20 years’,” Inglis says. “But within weeks, one of the critics rang me to apologise. He’d seen footage of his own driver nodding off behind the wheel — and that shaking seat waking him up likely saved his life.”

In contrast, the driver uptake of AutoSense Vision Focus has been without hesitation.

“There was zero resistance from our drivers when we rolled out the forward-facing cameras,” Inglis says. “Once they understood that these cameras were there to protect them, not police them, they were on board straight away. It’s been a very different conversation.”

The implementation hasn’t stopped with hardware. Foodstuffs North Island has also embedded rigorous safety protocols into its Transport Service Agreement, including annual medicals for all drivers and fatigue assessments when risks are flagged. Real-time alerts allow Guardian dispatchers to intervene if a driver appears distracted or tired.

“A driver gets a hands-free call straight away from their Fleet Manager asking if they’re OK. If they’re not, we’ll swap them out. No questions asked,” Inglis explains. “That’s a big cultural shift from a few years ago, when drivers were hesitant to admit they were tired. Now it’s open, it’s supported, and they know we’ve got their backs.”

That cultural shift has been driven by data — something Inglis was instrumental in securing. He worked closely with AutoSense to establish benchmarked, fleet-wide monthly reporting that now benefits not only the Foodstuffs North Island fleet but all its Owner Drivers. Foodstuffs North Island’s reporting has since helped shape how Guardian customers nationwide measure success.

The improvements have been striking. In the past five years, the total annual number of distraction and mobile phone use behind the wheel have both dropped by more than two-thirds across the Foodstuffs North Island fleet. Guardian cameras are now recording fewer than one distraction event per 10,000 kilometres — well below the national average of 1.17 per 10,000 km.

Annual fatigue-related incidents per 10,000km have fallen by 41% across the Foodstuffs North Island fleet, compared to a national reduction of 36% over the same period. And when it comes to phone use, the change is even more dramatic — mobile phone-related events have dropped by 84% within the fleet, outperforming the national average reduction of 62%.

These changes point to more than just safer statistics, reflecting a genuine culture shift on the road. The combination of technology, support, and transparency is giving drivers the confidence and tools to make better decisions every day.

The impact? Fewer fatigue incidents, fewer distractions, multiple life-changing diagnoses of sleep apnoea, protected drivers and ultimately, a safer driving culture across the fleet’s 475 drivers.

“AutoSense has been a true partner - always responsive, no matter the time of day, practical in their installations, and genuinely committed to safety,” says Inglis. “They don’t just sell us technology; they provide advice and help us apply it in the real world.”

The business’s driver safety programme has also included speed monitoring and ensuring all trucks meet modern standards, and there is an imminent rollout of audible left-turn alerts for vulnerable road users. But for Inglis, it all comes back to one core principle.

“Our fleet safety results have been achieved from a safety-first culture where people matter, and we make sure every driver has access to our whole package of safety interventions. AutoSense technology has enabled us to make it a reality.”