How a Texas Fleet Lowered At-Fault Accidents by 83% – Security

The statistics aren’t fairly. In 2020, some 3,142 individuals misplaced their lives on U.S. roads and one other 400,000 suffered accidents as a result of distracted driving, in accordance with the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration. As a fleet proprietor or operator, you’re in all probability already conscious that your workers might wind up being a kind of statistics. Equally worrisome, any one in every of your drivers may very well be the catalyst of a kind of statistics, opening your group to legal responsibility.

In a video episode of Fleet Tech That Works, Automotive Fleet talked with Tanner Ambs of True MHS and Tyler Mortensen of GPS Perception about how video telematics may help fleets scale back total collisions, legal responsibility, and distracted driving.

With 4 places all through Texas, True MHS focuses on community-based companies for individuals identified with a severe psychological sickness. Because the group’s data guru, Tanner Ambs is accountable for a number of data-driven tasks together with managing a 100-car fleet and overseeing the fleet security program.

Whereas True MHS previously relied on conventional telematics, Ambs and staff wished to take security to the following degree and they also applied a video telematics answer from GPS Perception.

“We had been wanting into movies particularly to be extra protected. And the metrics that we had been getting (from our former telematics), did not give us the entire image,” mentioned Ambs. “We discovered that taking a look at video, we get a extra full image of what’s happening, surrounding an incident. …Is it my driver being an fool? Or is it any individual else? I can inform that by watching the video. I can not inform that if telematics simply tells me there was a harsh braking second.”

That’s referred to as context, says GPS Perception’s Mortensen. Telematics created visibility for fleets. Managers knew the place their automobiles had been in actual time they usually received knowledge on behaviors like rushing, harsh braking, and even scorecards to higher perceive drivers.

“However what telematics didn’t present is context. What really occurred, why was there harsh braking, and was my man doing one thing unsafe like distracted driving?” mentioned Mortensen. “What we’re seeing in the present day is that corporations need context. They need full visibility.”

Why? As a result of context round incidents and collisions is what permits a fleet operator to really handle security and foster a dialogue with drivers that may result in the particular enhancements they want.

Fewer Collisions, Simpler Administration

Ambs says putting in the video answer has made an enormous distinction on his job in addition to on outcomes. By with the ability to focus in additional on harmful driving behaviors, True MHS has decreased at-fault accidents by 83%.

“We had been down from 30 to 5 at-fault accidents final yr. In order that’s a good portion that I can safely assume had been as a result of distracted driving previous to us having the movies and the video functionality put in.”

Managing his fleet is way simpler, too. In spite of everything, there isn’t any approach one can continually look over their shoulder at some 130 drivers. However that doesn’t imply Ambs is consistently watching video. Quite the opposite, as a result of he solely must view video when a driver performs exterior of the corporate’s security parameters.

“If they’re training unsafe driving habits, that is the one time that I see a video. It is a minute clip that offers that context. And I will see what was happening. Was there one thing that precipitated this? Is there some kind of mitigating issue I have to consider?”

Security is way more manageable due to video telematics. Even with over 100 automobiles, Ambs says he’s in a position to monitor every part — and solely these issues — that want monitoring to maintain his drivers protected.

Influence on Drivers

Though the brand new cameras have been working properly for Ambs, not everybody was in favor of them. “It was like a 50-50 break up,” says Ambs. “A few of our drivers had been okay with the video cameras and others weren’t.”

Nonetheless, Ambs found that when he satisfied the staff of the digital camera’s actual worth and that he was “not simply wanting in on what you’re doing on a day-to-day foundation,” their consolation degree expanded.

He defined to his staff — and to new hires — that the movies are solely seen when completely obligatory. “I’m not fascinated by what you’re doing contained in the automobiles so long as it’s protected. …I do not care what Taylor Swift music you’re singing to …I will not see it!” mentioned Ambs.

That message calmed down many fears, and most of his drivers don’t see the video cameras as an invasion of privateness. Actually, most drivers perceive how the cameras may help establish areas the place they will enhance.

Due to the GPS Perception answer, Ambs is best positioned to educate particular person drivers and combine key learnings into coaching for brand spanking new hires. For instance, when coaching new hires, he factors out the three most typical issues areas he has persistently famous from viewing video incidents. These embrace following distance, cease indicators, and distracted driving.

With the video knowledge on the prepared, Ambs is armed to warning new drivers about avoiding these particular potential dangerous driving behaviors.

Mortensen says one other option to get drivers to just accept video cameras and to make use of them to spice up fleet security is to hunt out cameras that may highlight optimistic knowledge — not simply unfavorable occasions.  There are video cameras obtainable that supply alternatives to deal with what your drivers do properly, and that helps fleet operators drive positively targeted security packages. Mortensen urges fleet operators to hunt out sensible digital camera options that may assist them just do that.

“I believe it is extremely essential to think about optimistic driving habits. Ask your self, is that one thing that this digital camera can seize?” says Mortensen.

He makes use of a Walter Payton analogy. “For those who solely primarily based his efficiency off of fumbles, he wouldn’t be within the dialogue for prime operating backs in NFL historical past,” mentioned Mortensen. “However if you have a look at optimistic knowledge, and also you have a look at every part that he did, it is exhausting to argue that he is not within the prime 5 if not the highest operating backs. The identical goes to your drivers.”

Watch the complete video interview right here: