Category: Driver Performance

How to Get Drivers on Board with Dash Cams

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on How to Get Drivers on Board with Dash Cams

Drivers and dash cams

You’ve done your research on dash cams, pulled the trigger and made the investment. Implementation is good to go and from here on it, it’s smooth sailing. In no time, you’ll have your drivers on board with dash cams, right?

Not always. As with anything new, there can be a learning curve, and even resistance, when it comes to getting drivers on board with dash cams. 

This article will explore why some drivers might hesitate when it comes to dash cams, and how you can help get your drivers on board with dash cams.

Why Would Your Drivers Take Issue With Dash Cams?

Context, insight, and even a little empathy are necessary to address dash cam resistance. Some of the top objections with dash cams include:

Dash Cams Are an Invasion of Privacy

Having a camera pointed directly at someone for hours on end can feel a bit intrusive. Only last year, an Amazon driver tendered his notice after it was announced that the online retailer would be implementing AI dash cams in their delivery vehicles, citing the move was “both a privacy violation, and a breach of trust.”

Solution: Let Drivers Know That Privacy is a Priority

If privacy is a big concern for your drivers, let them know that it’s a priority for your fleet as well. This could include ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to footage, and that footage is only used for legitimate purposes, such as investigating accidents or claims. Implementing policies and procedures like these will go a long way in gaining driver trust.

Drivers Will Feel Like They’re Not Part of the Process

While your drivers aren’t necessarily part of your day-to-day business operations and decision-making, simply announcing a roll-out for new technology without requesting any feedback or having a pilot program can make your staff feel as though they don’t have agency over their role.

Solution: Provide Transparency

If you’re worried about drivers being resistant to dash cams, ease into it. Start by rolling out the technology to a few select drivers, and see how they react. You can then use their feedback to make adjustments before rolling it out to the rest of your fleet. 

Let your drivers know why you’re using dash cams and how you plan to use the footage. Make clear your intentions, and remind them that you have their best interests at heart.

This gradual approach will give you a chance to work out any kinks, and it will also help build trust with your drivers.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to get feedback from your drivers. As primary users, they may have insights or suggestions on how to make the transition to using dash cams smoother. Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask for their input!

Dash Cams Will Catch Their Mistakes

Again, this is a valid concern. No one wants to get in trouble or be reprimanded for making a mistake, and having it all caught on camera can feel like too much pressure. 

Solution: Talk About the Benefits

One of the best ways to get drivers on board with dash cams is to simply talk to them about the benefits. 

Improved fleet safety, reduction in insurance rates, and peace of mind knowing that footage can be used to defend against false claims feel far less like you’re trying to catch your drivers in a “gotcha” moment. 

Dash Cams Will Negatively Affect Performance Reviews

If video footage is being used for performance reviews, drivers might take umbrage with dash cams, citing them as a means to limit career advancement.

Solution: Use Training and Education as a Solution, Not Surveillance

Get drivers on board with dash cams using training and education opportunities, as well as incentives for good driving performance. 

Whether you offer prizes, rewards or bonuses, positive reinforcement can put to rest any myths or misconceptions about dash cams, and it will also contribute towards a positive safety culture. 

Dash cams present a unique opportunity for partnership between you and your drivers, offering transparency and accountability on either side. Your drivers want to know that you have their safety and best interests at heart. They want to feel encouraged and appreciated.

Changing the language around implementation will make a big difference when getting your drivers on board with dash cams.

Provided you’ve given your drivers adequate time to prepare for the transition, they too will come to see dash cam technology as a benefit — possibly even an asset — to their work on the road.

driver, fleet, transportation, training, driver shortage, zenducam, gofleet, zenscore

GoFleet Can Help You Hire (And Keep) Drivers – Here’s How.

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on GoFleet Can Help You Hire (And Keep) Drivers – Here’s How.

According to the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) 2021 Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry report, fleets still list driver shortage as a top concern. Second on the list is driver retention, proving that it takes more than a competitive salary to attract and maintain a top-tier roster of professional drivers.

 

Thankfully, GoFleet has a number of resources to help mitigate driver shortage. By leveraging ZenScore, ZenduCAM and our managed service, we can help you recruit — and retain — the best drivers for your fleet.

 

The Driver Shortage

 

The trucking sector has undergone a period of belt-tightening, particularly with regards to the shortage of available drivers. The reasons are nuanced, but the end result is a deficit of available — and skilled — truck operators.

 

The pandemic has contributed to a massive imbalance of supply and demand. Drivers are hesitant to return to work due to the pandemic, or struggling to find licensing bureaus and training schools that remained open during lockdown. The result was a surge in freight volume with a drastically reduced headcount of qualified drivers, and a potential backlog of potential drivers waiting to be certified.

 

Retirements, layoffs and career changes represent another layer of lowered headcount. The average age of a truck driver is 46 (compared to 42 for all workers) and private fleet drivers can average 57 years old. With truck operators retiring faster than they can be replaced, fleet managers are left short-staffed and struggling to recruit suitable candidates.

 

Drivers are also changing careers, looking to replace their time behind the wheel with other swelling industries such as warehousing and construction. According to BLS, there have been roughly 43,000 construction jobs added to the construction industry since June. 

 

While we can’t make recommendations about wages and salaries, GoFleet can show you how our end-to-end digital fleet solutions can help you with consistency, transparency and safety; three pillars upon which you can build a stellar team of drivers.

 

Build a workplace safety culture

 

If you can effectively connect culture and safety, you’ll be more likely to boost retention. A positive corporate safety culture engages drivers by emphasizing that their actions matter. On the road, dash cams and telematics data help engage drivers on their routes by identifying risky behaviour, providing live coaching and reinforcing compliance regulations.

 

You should be clear and consistent with corporate messaging: safety is your top priority. Reinforce the connection between a driver’s behaviour and the fleet’s reputation, and make safety a part of every operation and branding opportunity, on and off the road.

 

Connect with technology

 

Compliance rules, such as the ELD mandate, require drivers to monitor their hours of service (HOS) Investing in dash cam technology makes your drivers daily routine easier, safer, and more productive. When drivers feel supported, not surveilled, they’re more likely to stay at their job.

 

For example, ZenduCAM provides live HD streaming to identify accidents or incidents with real-time transmission of images, GPS location tracking and driving behaviour data. ZenduCAM can help you track your drivers’ hours of service as well as their CSA scores. Smarter routing and scheduling can make trips more efficient, bringing your drivers home more often, contributing to their overall job satisfaction and aiding your business in retaining your drivers.

 

Reward your top performers

 

As part of our Managed Service offering, you can view the performance of your drivers at a glance with our built-in points system and break down the performance of each driver individually in detailed scorecards.

 

Identify your best drivers through this driver score program. This scorecard tells your drivers where they rank, and what they have to do to achieve the next reward level. By changing the narrative from punishing “bad” behaviour to rewarding good driving habits, your drivers are less likely to see dash cams as invasive or punitive.

GoFleet’s ZenScore creates quantifiable assessments on driving behaviour by identifying dangerous driving habits and optimizing the efficiency of your fleet. This interactive dashboard and driver scoring system monitors violations while incentivizing drivers to improve performance through contests and KPI metrics. Offer bonuses to individuals with high safety scores to help with retention, or try gamification to keep your fleet engaged.

 

Help optimize their routes

 

A common refrain from drivers leaving the trucking industry is the desire to be at home with their loved ones on a more regular basis (hence the move to more stationary industries such as construction.)

 

Using a custom mapping solution such as ZenduMaps, you can configure your maps to show data such as road status, vehicle location, weather reports and compliance times. Work with your fleet to optimize their routes, shorten trips and reduce the amount of time spent on the road while still managing operations efficiently. 

 

Improve training

 

Ongoing communication between you and your drivers is essential to reducing errors and improving efficiency. A great tool to help improve effective and continuous communication is ZenduLearn, an innovative training solution that leverages an online course hub to provide the skills and resources your drivers need.

 

Having detailed insights about each driver’s behaviour allows training to be tailored to each specific individual based on what they need to improve on. The application offers completion tracking and personalized learning, automating the most common tasks of employee training, such as marking quizzes, sending notifications for incomplete training modules, and issuing certifications. The centralized platform also allows you to keep track of every driver’s progress so you can maintain a strong learning environment within your team. 

 

Conclusion

 

According to FreightWaves magazine, the average cost of turnover is $11,500 per driver. High-performing truck drivers are an asset and an incredibly valuable resource to any business. Their role requires constant and heightened awareness and good judgement. 

 

Discover how to use industry-leading telematics, dash cams and managed service solutions to help you improve operational efficiency, enhance safety and create a lineup of exemplary drivers. Schedule a free demonstration today, and let us take you team to the next level.

Technology to Prevent & Stop Distracted Driving

Posted on | by Wisam Abou-diab | Leave a Comment on Technology to Prevent & Stop Distracted Driving

Imagine this.

 

You’re having a great morning. You’ve just left the house after enjoying some coffee and you’re on your way to get some groceries. While you’re on the road, you pass by another car and you notice the person inside is looking down at their phone.

 

Now I’m sure this situation has been observed multiple times by people who regularly drive. But this is more than just a regular occurrence and texting while driving should be taken more seriously. Sure, you could look down at a text for a second and nothing might happen. But there is a chance that your act of looking away from the road for a few seconds could end in disaster.

 

Worst case scenario?

Check out this short video on how a distracted driver changed lives forever by having two eyes on his cell phone instead of the road ahead.

 

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving was linked to 3,450 deaths in 2016, making up 9.2% of all motor vehicle-related fatalities. So what can you do? Well, if you have a fleet you might want to look into some distracted driving solutions. GoFleet, for example, offers two solutions currently – their Driver Distraction Camera and their FleetGuardian.

The FleetGuardian Solution

FleetGuardian is for the driver who needs to stay connected and the company that is serious about safety. It’s basically a tamper-proof safety box for drivers to store their phone in while they are busy driving while allowing for Bluetooth connectivity for easy hands – free communication.

 

It connects to a GO7 tracking device through the IOX port and can track if the drivers haven’t placed the phone inside the box when the car is moving. This is a great feature that allows you to monitor if your drivers are using the boxes and if not, you can correct the issue.

 

Another plus to the FleetGuardian, is how easy it is to set up, since its just hardware (a box with a cable). Other solutions like apps, take some time to configure.

Technology for Distracted Driving

Driver Distraction Camera

Technology for Distracted Driving

 

Driver Distraction Camera you say? Yes, it’s real, and it is almost ready for the public to use. The ZenduCAM Driver Distraction Camera is the world’s most advanced fatigue detection and driver distraction alert camera. The camera features facial recognition technology which detects when the driver is distracted (this includes alerts when the driver is texting, eating, micro-sleeping, holding a phone, yawning, and more). This amazing advancement even works in the night time due to twelve infrared LEDs. It also sounds audible alerts when it detects any distraction.

 

via GIPHY

I know, crazy…

 

With so many options to help prevent distracted driving, I recommend investing in a solution that is right for you and your business. Whether that means a preventative solution, or protective solution – any way to keep the roads safer is always a good bet.

 

 

 

Check out our other blog on Distracted Driving!

 

What’s Considered as Distracted Driving?

What’s Considered as Distracted Driving?

Posted on | by Wisam Abou-diab | Leave a Comment on What’s Considered as Distracted Driving?

By definition, distracted driving seems pretty simple. If something is causing a driver to compromise their judgement while driving – it is considered a distraction. Typically, most people associate distracted driving with electronic devices. It has now become common knowledge that you absolutely cannot be using your phone while driving or even hold it in your hands. Well, unless your idea of fun includes paying up to $1000 and receiving three demerit points (not to mention a suspended license for 30 days for a first conviction).

 

What is considered as distracted driving

 

Still sound like fun? No? Just don’t use your phone while driving. While that statement is applicable everywhere that roads exist, these consequences come directly from Ontario’s laws. So if you’re from Ontario, pay extra attention folks.

 

Now that we are familiar with the consequences of using an electronic device while driving, let’s discuss what else constitutes distracted driving according to the RCMP.

 

 

Did Matt’s infamous “shortcut” get you lost again? Well, you’re going to have to pull over and type your destination into the GPS when you aren’t driving.

 

Wondering if you missed any information in that document you just signed? You’ll need to wait until you are no longer driving in order to read it.

 

Is Friday by Rebecca Black blaring through your speakers? Well, you can apologise to your ears after you pull over because you can’t switch playlists while driving either.

 

 

Oh, and that burrito in the passenger seat that you just picked up? It might be calling your name but if you choose to eat it on the road, a distracted driving violation could be waiting for you too (Plus six demerits depending on the food).

 

Eating Distracted Driving

 

 

Got it?

 

Basically, distracted driving isn’t only limited to the use of electronics. You could be combing your hair while merging to be found guilty of distracted driving. So let’s get into specifics, the following actions that are considered as distracted driving: 

 

  • Talking on a cell phone
  • Texting
  • Reading (books, maps, newspapers for example)
  • Using a GPS navigator
  • Watching videos or movies
  • Eating /drinking
  • Smoking
  • Personal grooming
  • Adjusting the radio / CD
  • Playing extremely loud music

 

So What?

 

Look, rules are broken all the time. But when it comes to distracted driving, breaking the rules could mean the difference between life and death. In fact, 80% of collisions and 65% of near crashes have some form of driver inattention as contributing factors according to the National Highway Safety Administration. With statistics like those, companies have started to take preventative action by implementing ways to monitor distracted driving on the roads.

 

 

What’s Being Done About it?

 

Solutions like alert systems to tell drivers to slow down when they’re speeding, for example, can help create a safer environment on the road. GoFleet specifically offers solutions to act as deterrents for distracted driving; like their variety of cameras, hands-free communication alternatives, and cellphone disabling systems. A cool feature that we will see available on the market is Video AI. This technology processes facial contours to determine if people are distracted or not while they are driving, and sends notifications to managers. The system is able to detect when the driver is texting, eating, micro-sleeping, holding a phone, yawning and more. It can be suggested that reactions leading to crashes usually occur when the driver in question is being distracted while operating the vehicle. Technology is making big moves people!

 

 

Many companies run reports and try to further educate drivers on how to drive safely so fewer accidents occur due to distractions. What’s more, goFleet also offers solutions for disabling mobile devices while the driver is on a route, as well as intelligent cameras that recognize if the eyes are looking down, or if there’s a phone in your hand, if you’re eating and more! See our solutions by clicking here.

 

Okay so, just to clarify – no phone use while driving. At all.

 

Do not take your eyes off the road to pull out your lunch, and definitely do not try to do your makeup on the way to work. Anything that could limit you from being focused while driving should be avoided. Let’s work together to be more aware and keep the streets safer.

 

Distracted Driving

 

Part 3: Common Useful Reports – Driver Safety Reports

Posted on | by Jimmy Song | Leave a Comment on Part 3: Common Useful Reports – Driver Safety Reports

One of our biggest client request is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, safety managers use driver safety reports to monitor driver safety and train drivers on best practices.

Driver Safety Reports

Safety is a top priority for many fleets because even a single accident can be disastrous. For instance, think about the BP oil spill a few years ago. In this case, an oil rig leaked and caused wide damage. The company paid billions of dollars in fines and saw a consumer backlash in sales.

Similarly, fleet businesses invest heavily into driver safety to prevent accidents. Some of the most common driver safety reports measure include seatbelt violations, Top 5 Speeding Violators, and Top 5 Aggressive Drivers.

Seatbelt Violators

Many people were taught from an early age to wear their seatbelts. Although most people wear seatbelts, there are still a few folks who don’t.

This problem also impacts fleets. Businesses are partly liable for workplace safety so most fleets have seatbelt policies. Fortunately, a lot of these fleets get visibility on seatbelt compliance by using vehicle monitoring tools.

Seatbelt Violators

To illustrate, Geotab uses a Top 5 Seatbelt Violation report to monitor seatbelt compliance. In our example report, the biggest concern is Vehicle 4. As a result of this data, the supervisor knows to follow up with Vehicle 4’s driver on their seatbelt usage.

Top 5 Speeding Report

Another common safety metric is speeding. Speeding is extremely common. For instance, think about the last time you were on the road. How many speeders did you see? Most drivers will answer, “almost everyone on the road!”

Speeding, however, is especially concerning for commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles are much bigger and heavier than private vehicles. Therefore, commercial vehicle accidents are usually more serious than non-commercial vehicle accidents.

top 5 speeding violations

In response, supervisors use driver safety reports such as Top Speeding Violators. In our sample report, Alex leads the fleet in speeding incidents. As a result, his manager has the data to say something like, “Alex, I noticed that you sped a company-leading 144 times. I expect you to decrease that to X speeding incidents next month.”

Top 5 Aggressive Driving

Is speeding the only aggressive driving habit? No. There are tons of other aggressive driving habits. For instance, in Ontario driving tests, assessors watch aggressive habits such as braking harshly, accelerating harshly, and cutting other drivers.

Harsh braking is a particularly common KPI in modern fleets. Managers found a strong correlation between harsh braking incidents and distracted and fatigued driving incidents.

harh braking driving behaviour

In response, a lot of supervisors are now collecting video driving safety reports. Fleet cameras detect aggressive driving habits and show a footage of the event. As a result, managers can check if the driver was distracted or fatigued.

Did you enjoy our mini-series on useful fleet reports? Click here to watch a video on other common driver safety reports. 

Driver Safety Course: Common Driving Mistakes

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

What are some common driving mistakes? New or veteran drivers are all guilty of a few mistakes. However, as bad as some people think of their driving skills, most drivers have never had the misfortune of appearing on the “Canada’s Worst Driver” driver safety course.

Canada’s Worst Driver is a TV show based off the British show. Bad drivers are nominated by their family and friends to be rehabilitated on the “Canada’s Worst Driver’s” driver safety course.

To be fair, there are some truly challenging obstacles on that training course. Here is a clip from the show:

We’ll take a look at some of the most common driving mistakes, not just from Canada’s Worst Drivers, but from everyday drivers.

most common driving mistakes

1) Not following the speed limit.

Driving too fast (or too slow!) is a big one. In fact, speeding is heavily linked to causing accidents.

Here’s the most interesting stat. Almost everyone knows speeding is bad but they do it anyway! A few years ago, in an Alberta survey, 82% of people believed that speeding is bad but 52% of people still admit to speeding.

In other words, speeding is completely blamable on human error! Besides keeping an eye on their speed, some drivers use speed sensors to remind them to slow down.

2) Abrupt starts/stops

Harsh braking and acceleration is another common mistake. Not only can they cause accidents, but harsh driving is a fuel killer.

Going back to Canada’s Worst Drivers, the Water Bucket Challenge tests drivers on harsh driving and is an audience favourite. A large water bucket is mounted on top of the driver’s roofless car. Whenever the driver accelerates or brakes harshly, the water spills on everyone in the car.

Similarly to the water bucket challenge, instructors often tell new drivers to imagine a water glass in their car. The goal is to drive smoothly and prevent the glass from spilling.

3) Improper lane changes

Improper lane changes are next on our list. Lane changes are one of the most common ways for drivers to get in an accident. Many accidents happen because drivers forget to check their blind spot and crash into a neighbouring car.

How can drivers avoid this mistake? The biggest tip is to remember your driver safety course! A lot of instructors teach the acronym MSB, or at least some variation. MSB stands for Mirror, Signal, Blind spot check. Drivers should check of the 3 spots during every single lane change.

Another tip is to install blind spot sensors. Some drivers equip their cars with sensors that warn them of any unsafe lane changes.

4) Distracted driving

Distracted driving deserves its own spot on this list. Everyone knows that distracted driving is bad. Yet, drivers still do it all the time. Just the other day, I saw a driver texting because the traffic was moving slowly!

Speaking of texting and driving, that is one of the biggest forms of distracted driving. However, it is certainly not the only form of distracted driving!

Some other common distractions include talking to passengers, staring at the GPS navigator, or even pressing skip on an annoying music track.

5) Not paying attention in parking lots

Other than being careful on the road, drivers need to pay attention in parking lots. Parking lots have large accident rates because it is a busy environment with lots of distractions.

Here are some statistics. In parking lots, 63% of drivers plan their trip on their navigators, 60% of drivers talk on the phone, and 53% of drivers groom themselves. There are a lot of distractions!

pay attention in parking lots

Needless to mention, drivers need to pay more attention in parking lots. Drivers need to put away all distractions after starting the vehicle.

6) Overconfidence

Finally, overconfidence is a common driving mistake. A lot of drivers, even veteran drivers, put themselves at risk.

According to studies, 8 out 10 people believe that they are above average drivers. However, 90% of accidents are caused by human errors. Based on those numbers, above average drivers still make errors! As a result, veteran drivers should remember that they too can get in accidents from carelessness.

Links
EHS Today: Black Friday Alert: Driving Through a Parking Lot Is Still Driving!
Business Insider: Americans are dangerously overconfident in their driving skills —but they’re about to get a harsh reality check
CBC: Speeding is bad but we do it anyway, Alberta drivers tell AMA

Managing Driving Fatigue Around Daylight Savings Time

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Recently, the clocks sprang forward for Daylight Savings Time. Although people enjoy more sunlight in the evening, fleet safety managers are concerned about managing driver fatigue. According to studies, people are 17% more likely to get in an accident on the Monday after the time change.

Of course, that doesn’t Daylight Savings Time is an awful idea! Let’s explore the history of daylight savings time and discuss managing driver fatigue.

History of Daylight Savings Time

Who thought of Daylight Savings Time? Daylight Savings Time has hundreds of years of history.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the thought leaders for Daylight Savings Time – he strongly believed that people should rely on sunlight rather than candles. Franklin then published an essay where he summarized that the economy could save millions of dollars with sunlight.

William Willett

While Franklin thought about maximizing sunlight, Willett was the one who suggested an actual time change. One day, Willett realized that people can get more sunlight by advancing clocks by an hour between spring and fall.Year after year, the British parliament mulled over Willett’s idea.

Wartime & Afterwards

Daylights Savings did not take place until the First World War, where countries needed to save energy. It was actually Germany who first used Daylight Savings. England and the Allies soon followed suit.

After the war, some cities continued using Daylight Savings Time. Eventually, governments realized that it made more sense for everyone to have Daylight Savings Time and passed a law to do so. Today, about 40% of places use Daylight Savings Time!

Daylight Savings & Road Safety

Road safety was perhaps something Franklin and Willett didn’t consider. Cars, after all, were not popularized until the 1900s!

Daylight Savings Time affects road safety because:

Driver fatigue. Losing an hour is bad news for sleep lovers! In addition to the lost hour, most people find it hard to force themselves to sleep earlier. Of course, by losing sleep, people have reduced physical and mental ability in the morning.

Visibility. While Daylight Savings mean longer evenings, it also means darker morning drives. Early March is always a tease; before Daylight Savings Time, people get a preview of bright mornings but are then treated to a dark morning after Daylight Savings Time kicks in!

Managing Driver Fatigue

Drivers and fleets both have a role in managing driver fatigue.

Drivers

People can reduce fatigue by managing their sleeping schedules. Some of the top tips include:

7 Day Adjustment

The National Sleep Foundation recommends using an entire week to prepare for Daylight Savings. Each day, people should sleep 10 minutes earlier than the day before. As a result, an entire hour is made up by the week’s end.

Bedtime Ritual

Another tip is to work on a bedtime ritual. Some rituals such as avoiding electronics or food before sleep should be universal. Other rituals depend on the person. For example, I sometimes play light instrumental music to help me fall asleep.

Fleets

Driver supervisors are also taking charge of managing driver fatigue.

Case Study: Driver Fatigue Detection

Some fleets use driver fatigue detection sensors. Fatigue detection sensors scan a driver’s facial structure to measure their fatigue. During the Daylight Savings Time switch, some managers took a positive spin by using fatigue sensors to identify and reward alert drivers!

Click here to learn more about the Dangers of Driver Fatigue!

Links
History: 8 Things You May Not Know About Daylight Saving Time
Telegram: Deadly car crashes spike after changing clocks for Daylight Saving Time

Driver Risk Management | Driver Training & Management

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

“Hey boss, what do you think of the new driver?” Uh oh. Although most safety managers prepare great selection and training processes, it is often hard to measure a driver’s risk. That risk is called driver risk management.

Driver Risk Management

First, let’s discuss what is risk management. Risk management means identifying what can go wrong and then planning ahead to minimize those risks.

Here’s an example. Let’s say an NBA general manager is prospecting draft picks. The GM can have the perfect prospect – say a 7-foot center who can make a real impact on both sides of the court.

However, without proper risk management such as looking at health history, the pick can be disastrous. That’s what happened with Greg Oden, a super talented college star who never made an NBA impact because of multiple knee injuries.

Of course, the same concept applies to fleet management. Driver risk management is the process of figuring who are the riskiest drivers. Ideally, managers would want a crystal ball that would tell them which drivers will get in an accident.

Unfortunately, those crystal balls don’t exist. Without crystal balls, what are some good ways to have driver risk management?

Traditional management

For a long time, managers only looked at their drivers’ accident history. If a driver was in an accident, it’s more likely that they will be involved in another one. For that reason, these drivers are labeled as the riskiest.

Although this idea has reason, it shouldn’t be the only way to classify drivers. Some shortfalls include:

Reactive, not proactive

Perhaps the biggest shortfall is that traditional driver risk management is reactive. Managers would only classify a driver as risky after they get in an accident. That defeats the purpose of risk management, which is meant to prevent accidents from happening in the first place!

One-sided

Accident histories might not be the most reliable source of data. Since reports do not contain the entire story, managers still have to ask a few questions. How long ago was the accident? What caused the accident? Who was at fault? Accidents do not necessarily reflect a driver’s skills and it would be shortsighted to label a driver from a single incident.

Proactive management

The best practice in modern driver risk management is to proactively look at data. “Big data improves safety,” wrote Jorge Gonzales, a Geotab Solutions Engineer. “The quantity and quality of data is possible to process with the right tools.

Here are a few examples on how big data improved driver risk management.

Speeding data

Take a look at the graphs above. Clearly, the biggest change is the blue part. Blue represents speeding. When drivers speed, they are involved in more serious accidents.

Here is another graph. This graph shows that speeding is the most common GPS event when vehicles are involved in a collision.

It’s no secret that monitoring speeding directly correlates to driver risk. It’s like the movie Moneyball, where a baseball GM selects his players based on their On Base Percentage stat; many safety managers use speeding stats to gauge a driver’s accident risk.

Distracted driving

Distracted driving is another big area in risk management. According to a tort law called “negligent entrustment”, businesses can pay the price for distracted drivers.

Negligent entrustment is a fancy way of saying that a person is responsible when they let someone use a risky tool – a car, for example. Businesses must take reasonable steps to prevent distracted driving or they can be fined.

As a result, businesses started collecting data on distracted driving. For instance, some businesses use live streaming cameras to check if a driver is distracted. Other businesses use eye detectors to create distraction reports.

Online testing

Some managers use a framework called “ABC” to assess driver risk. ABC stands for Attitude, Behaviour, and Competence.

One of the coolest new ways to identify risky drivers is to use online testing. Online tests help managers complete a full picture on a driver. It assesses anything from their road knowledge to their concentration.

For example, E-Training World has online exercises to test driver concentration. In a test, a driver is shown a traffic picture for 12 seconds. After the 12 seconds, there is a multiple choice question about the picture.

Online testing, as a result, helps managers identify risky drivers who have not yet shown risky behaviours on the road.

Links
FleetNews: Driver training: Steps to a successful driver training strategy
automotiveFleet: A Paradigm Shift to Driver Risk Management
Geotab: Using Big Data for Road Safety: A Safety Analysis Based on Geotab Telematics Data

Safe Driving Guide | From Coaching to Collision Warning Systems

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Where did you learn how to drive? A lot of people learn from driving schools or from family members. In my case, my dad sat in the passenger seat and he was my extra set of eyes. It sure was a relief to have someone correct my mistakes! Besides driving school or family members, people also learned from tools such as in-cab coaching and collision warning systems.

Here are 3 ways where drivers can learn how to drive safely.

ways to drive safely

1) Driving Schools

Driving schools are an awesome place to learn safe driving. So how important is driving school? Compared to people who never attended driving school, driving school graduates get 75% fewer tickets and have 16% fewer accidents. That’s a big difference!

Driving schools, typically, are a combo of classroom and hands-on training. Both training methods are important and save drivers from tickets and accidents.

Classroom training

A lot of students only look forward to hands-on training. From my driving class lessons, I recall some of my classmates dozing off in the classroom. Big mistake! Classroom training teaches driving rules and makes a difference in avoiding traffic tickets.

Hands-on training

Most students sign up for driving school because of hands-on training. Hands-on training is where students get in a car with an instructor. The instructor then teaches students how to drive safely.

The best part is that this is all done in a safe car. Because instructors have their own brakes, they can stop the vehicle before it gets in an accident.

… And new ways of training!

The exciting part is some driving schools go beyond classroom and hands-on training. Driver simulation, for instance, is a growing area.

In driving simulations, students practice with virtual reality and a driving seat. As a result, students can safely practice anything from basic driving to emergencies.

2) In-Cab Coaching

In-cab coaching is like having a personal driving instructor. A coaching device monitors driving habits and uses a speaker for verbal feedback.
Example

Let’s say a new driver is being trained on driving to the speed limit. In this case, a zero-tolerance speeding rule is set up on the device. The driver is then actively monitored and trained by the device. If they exceed the exceed the limit, an audible alert reminds the driver to slow down.

In addition to speeding, drivers can be trained on other areas. Other common areas include acceleration, braking, cornering, and seatbelts.

3) Collision Warning Systems

If in-cab training is the coach, then collision warning systems are guardians. They warn and stop drivers from getting into collisions with vehicles and pedestrians.

So how exactly do collision warning systems work? The exciting answer is that it depends on the system!

Basic collision warning systems warn drivers by using visual and audio alerts. Advanced systems, on the other hand, brake the vehicle before it crashes. They are so advanced that the system is being used to develop self-driving cars!

More information about driving safety systems:
In-cab training: GoTalk
Forward collision warning: Mobileye
UNL News Releases: Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets

Improve Driver Performance With Fleet Tracking Solutions & Employee Incentives

Posted on | by Courtney redwell

 

Fleet Tracking Solutions Improve Driver Performance

 

Fleet tracking solutions offer many advantages; one in particular is it can help identify which employees have poor driving habits. Not only does this cause safety issues for your drivers and other people on the road, it is wasting company money on fuel and could be adding extra wear and tear to the vehicle.

It is crucial to tell your drivers if fleet tracking solutions will be implemented because that alone is going to improve their driving habits. Many of our clients installed the solution and noticed huge improvements within the first few weeks without having to discuss their drivers poor driving habits. When fleet tracking solutions are introduced properly, and you clearly explain what you hope to accomplish with the solution (such as reduced fuel costs by reducing idling and speeding) they will likely want to improve their driving on their own.

 

To assist you on implementation check out this download:
How to Successfully Introduce GPS Tracking to Your Team.

 

For those drivers who don’t improve on their own, fleet tracking solutions will help identify what drivers are costing you the most money (through speeding, idling, hard braking etc.) You may want to start out by addressing your drivers as a group, to avoid singling anyone out. This way you can bring up the most commonly seen issues to your drivers as a whole – and hope they all improve. If you are still struggling with a few individual drivers, it’s then best you sit down with them to discuss how their habits are wasting fuel and causing a safety concern, and what they can do to improve.

 

Employee Incentives for Most Improved Drivers

 

We have experienced many of our clients in the past creating a friendly company competition between all the drivers to see who can be the most successful. It makes it more fun for the employees to all compete for the best driver scorecard for the week. Some of our clients also start an incentive program to encourage drivers to have the best driving behaviour in the company.

Here are a couple ideas for employee incentives to improve driver performance:

  • Financial Incentive/Gift Cards
    Everyone responds to financial incentives. This is better for larger fleets with fluctuating numbers. You could do a monthly or quarterly financial incentive or gift card to the driver with the lowest idling cost, the fewest amount of driving incidents, the lowest amount of speeding infractions or a combination of everything.
  • Employee of the Month
    This is a fun, easy, low cost incentive a company of any size can offer. You could reward the best driver for the month the title of “Employee of the Month” and this could grant them various privileges around the office.
  • Group Incentive
    If you would prefer to do an office reward you could set goals for the entire office to be involved with. This might be staying under a certain amount of idling or keeping the number of driving infractions for the fleet, under a specific goal. As a reward to the office if the goals are met, you could take them all out for lunch, throw a pizza party, or let everyone off early one Friday before a long weekend.

The ideas are endless and your drivers will respond to GPS vehicle tracking whether you offer an incentive or not; offering an incentive may simply give that extra boost to drivers who take a little more convincing of the benefits of fleet tracking solutions.

Driving the Fleet Safety Movement