How safe are your company’s drivers behind the wheel – and what can you do to help them make safer decisions on the road?
More and more auto fleet managers are using wireless telematic devices mounted inside company vehicles to answer to monitor the speed, location, and braking information of their employees.
Businesses that have installed these systems have reduced their accident rate 15% to 20% by educating drivers, according to industry experts.
“We’ve always tried to individualize training, but in-vehicle information was hard to capture,” says Beth Lowrey of Mercury Associates, Inc. a fleet management consulting firm based in Fort Smith, AR. “Now, if we see somebody who has had a hard braking event or irregular shifting patterns, we can monitor this behavior in real time through technology and train accordingly.”
To help the cause, more sophisticated telematics systems are using in-vehicle cameras and active alarms that alert drivers immediately when they violate road safety standards “When a driver sees a light flashing, they will know that they have to take action,” explains Nancy Bendickson, senior consultant with Aon Global Risk Consulting (Minneapolis, MN).
Domique Bonte, Vice President and Director of Telematics of London-based ABI Research, believes this instant feedback empowers drivers by removing the sense that the telematics system is only there to monitor them. As Bonte sees it, “This way, a driver can improve himself without his boss or fleet manager having to do so. It's important to reward drivers for good behavior. It can't all be about punishing the bad ones.”
To learn how telematics can help keep your drivers safe behind the wheel – and reduce your Commercial Auto premiums – feel free to get in touch with us.