Iteris Customers Record 60 Million Miles of Operation with No Lane Departure Accidents; Two National Commercial Truck Fleets Report Zero Lane Departure Accidents since Installation of Iteris Technology
ANAHEIM, Calif.--Aug. 3, 2005--Iteris Inc. (AMEX:ITI), a leader in the development of vision-based technology that enhances driver safety, today announced that its Lane Departure Warning (LDW) technology has enabled two major commercial truck companies to log a combined 60 million miles of driving with no lane departure-related accidents.Cargo Transporters based in Claremont, N.C., and Orange, Calif.-based Logex, installed LDW in their fleets over two years ago and have now reported a combined 60 million miles with no lane departure-related accidents. LDW is designed to prevent inadvertent lane change, sideswipe and run-off-road accidents. Cargo Transporters, who currently has more than 278 trucks equipped with LDW, has reported to Iteris they have logged nearly 43 million miles to date, with no accidents of this type. Likewise, Logex informed Iteris they have logged 17 million miles without a lane departure-related accident.
"Iteris has always been confident that once our Lane Departure Warning system was deployed in larger volumes, commercial truck fleets would benefit from an improved driver safety record as a result of significant decreases in the number of lane departure-related accidents," said Jack Johnson, chief executive officer for Iteris. "This data from Cargo Transporters and Logex further validates the safety and financial benefits of having LDW installed in all heavy trucks."
"We installed LDW in our truck fleet to improve the safe operation of our vehicles and prevent sideswipe, inadvertent lane change, and run-off-road accidents caused by drowsiness, distraction and inattention," said John Pope, CEO of Cargo Transporters. "We are very excited to report that we have logged nearly 43 million miles to date, using LDW without any lane departure accidents," concluded Pope.
"Our company installed the Iteris LDW technology because of our commitment to safety. Since installing the system, we have logged over 17 million miles with no lane departure-related accidents," said Tom Rule, vice president of operations at Logex. "We believe the Iteris system was a significant contributor to this milestone." Cargo Transporters is part of CT Group, a trucking operation with intrastate and interstate common and contract authority based in Claremont, N.C. They specialize in truckload dry van freight with an emphasis on long-term contracts with partner shippers.
Logex Corp., a cryogenic liquid and compressed gases transportation company based in Orange, has purchased over 140 trucks with specifications that include the installation of Iteris' LDW system. The decision by Logex to specify Iteris' Lane Departure Warning technology on its truck purchases came after the company's evaluation of new safety technologies and equipment, which demonstrated the potential this feature can have on improving the safety of its fleet.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation the total societal cost of crashes exceeds $230 billion annually. The estimated annual cost of run-off-road crashes is $80 billion.
The Iteris LDW system uses a windshield-mounted camera that tracks the lane markings and "virtually" provides the functionality of highway rumble strips anywhere there are lane markings. Using image recognition software and proprietary algorithms, the system monitors the relative position of the truck and when it unintentionally crosses the lane markings, the unit automatically emits a distinctive rumble strip sound on the right or left side depending on the direction of travel, alerting the driver to make a correction. Use of the truck's turn signals automatically overrides the system. The Iteris LDW technology is currently deployed in nearly 13,000 commercial trucks in Europe and the U.S., and is currently undergoing evaluation testing in 38 domestic fleets. It has also been successfully introduced into the passenger car market by Infiniti on its FX- and M-series platforms.
About Iteris Inc.
Iteris Inc. is a leading provider of outdoor vision systems and sensors that optimize the flow of traffic and enhance driver safety. Iteris combines outdoor image processing, traffic engineering, and information technology to offer a broad range of transportation and safety solutions. Iteris Inc. has headquarters in Anaheim. Investors are encouraged to contact the company at 714-774-5000, or at www.iteris.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon our current expectations and the information available to us at this time. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "can", and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the impact and market acceptance of our LDW technology and our future prospects. These statements are subject to change and we undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
Important factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to; market acceptance of our LDW system and the vehicles that incorporate our systems; the timing and successful completion of customer qualification of our products and the risks of non-qualification; our ability to specify, develop, complete, introduce, market, and transition our products and technologies to volume production in a timely manner; the potential unforeseen impact of product offerings from competitors and other competitive pressures; and the general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the general economic slowdown and volatility in the automotive sector. Further information on Iteris Inc., including additional risk factors that may affect our forward looking statements, is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other SEC filings that are available through the SEC's Web site (www.sec.gov).