The Weather screen allows you to set the minimum weather-related risks at which CoPilot issues weather alerts to drivers or to back-office personnel assigning routes to drivers. CoPilot ignores weather events below that level. (Requires CoPilot add-on license for weather.)
Weather-related thresholds can be set separately for Road Risk, Tipping Index, Wind Speed, Wind Gust, Temperature, Speed Reduction, and Visibility.
Road Risk and Weather Alerts
Road Risk measures the highest weather-related risk the driver is expected to encounter at any point along the route. It is calculated by our weather provider, Weather Optics, based on a wide range of proprietary data including hyperlocal weather forecasts, historical weather data, the geographic area's topography, sensor data, and the area's overall preparedness for inclement weather.
The Road Risk Threshold is the risk level at which CoPilot or the back office receives a risk summary as well as any alerts for specific weather risks. These specific risks include: Tipping Risk, Wind Speed, Wind Gusts, Temperature, Speed Reduction and Visibility. The default value for Road Risk Threshold is 4. This default is in place when the toggle switch allowing thresholds is disabled. If enabled, the default is overridden, and your custom setting takes effect.
When you change the Road Risk Threshold setting, it influences the frequency at which you receive weather alerts—a higher number than 4 means alerts will only be sent with more severe weather. The reverse is also true.
Changing the Road Risk Threshold
To change the setting:
- Click the switch next to Enable Road Risk Threshold.
- Use the slider to select the threshold. As you slide, a description of the setting appears below the switch. (4 is the default)
- Select Save to finish.
Changing other risk settings
While the Road Risk summary may also include alerts for specific weather risks, you may decide your fleet wants to be alerted more frequently for things such as high winds, wind gusts, or visibility. The other settings on the Weather page allow you to set levels for when to receive these other alerts—independent of the overall Road Risk.
Wind gusts example
For example, let's say your fleet wants to be alerted when wind gusts reach 30 mph. However, if the overall Road Risk Threshold is set to a higher level, say 6 or higher, you might not receive an alert for 30 mph gusts because, combined with other weather factors, the overall risk may not reach that threshold.
However, if you set the Wind Gust Minimum to 30 mph, you will always receive alerts when gusts are 30 or higher along your route.