Fleet Driver Risk Management

What a Driver Training Device (DTD) Can Do

Highlight Losses Due To Driver Failure

We have been told up to 40% of all product damage in transit by a large national transport company, was due to load shifting in the storage compartments caused by drivers who simply do not slow down when they encounter speed bumps in the roads such as are often found in subdivisions. The same can occur with drivers who do not slow down when they believe a tight turn may contact a curb or worse yet a high storm drain curb. Drivers pressed for time to make scheduled deliveries can damage or destroy almost half of what they are transporting in their rush to get done faster with little regard for the company product they are destroying in the process. 

The cost to their companies can be staggering due to their ignorance or apathy in the following ways:

• Driver fails to slow down for speed bumps damaging product being transported,
• Driver then notices damaged product when unloading,
• Customer dissatisfied that the product was damaged may cancel order and return shipment,
• Customer Services involved with customer may offer additional perks to keep them satisfied,
• Return trip to replace the damaged goods.

The sum total is product damaged, Customer Services involved, possibly discounted invoice to keep customer, profit lost, customer not fully satisfied, two times the vehicle trips required burning more fuel and causing more pollution, and all of this due to a single driver behavioral problem that could have been prevented with the proper application of an active  Driver Training Device (DTD). The  DTD can actively alert the driver in real time they are in violation of management policy or safe driving behaviors and immediately document their violations in digital files for review or action at a later date.

Can Highlight Potential Driver Safety Violations;

What the drivers are actually doing in their company vehicles is often the story line of many a Fleet Safety Managers worst nightmares. Some of the below can only be documented with dual camera IVMS models.

• Are driver’s texting on a phone or Blackberry while driving?
• Are drivers eating meals while driving?
• Are drivers reading maps, watching DVD movies?
• Who is in the vehicle with them and why are they there?
• Do they pick up hitchhikers and if so why?
• Do they race over speed bumps?
• Do they hit curbs when making turns at high speeds?
• Do they drive on soft shoulders where they might get stuck?
• Do they smoke in the vehicles?

Can Highlight Potential Legal Violations
On Screen Mapping technology can now address specific claims that may arise from the public or parents that can take up valuable resources and time to handle and manage internally. Complaints like:

• Do the drivers speed on residential streets in the company vehicles?
• Do the drivers fail to stop at railroad crossings in the company vehicles?
• Do the drivers run red lights in the company vehicles?
• Do they use your company vehicle to perform illicit or illegal activities?
• Do they report every accident even slight impacts with little damage?

Can Provide Deterrence

Digital cameras on vehicles are a proven deterrent to help prevent many behavioral problems. This has not only been used as a primary deterrence by security and law enforcement in the past, but worldwide as a visual reminder that your will be held accountable for your actions. The video recorder is a constant reminder that the driver’s actions are being recorded and can later be weighed or evaluated by the expectations of management. In a time of recession where job security is in doubt, this may be the additional encouragement for your drivers to perform at their best in their own self-interest of continued employment.

Can Act As Expert Witness

Documentation of child or driver incident, of the actions and or statements made without bias, prejudice or outside influence. Recorded video evidence has and can be used in court as long as legal guidelines and access controls are maintained. Continuous video/audio of the entire trip from ignition start to ignition off, with time, date, GPS location, including all built in 3-axis “G” sensor charting can provide a preponderance of evidence to either prove what really happened or disprove what others may have imagined happened.

Can Overcome Perspective Bias

Provides a means to verify or dismiss actions and events that may be claimed by children, or others who may be responding to incorrect information, lies, slander or false perceptions.

When being judged by a jury of your peers, a driver working for a large corporation is often viewed as “guilty as charged”, when those claiming they were injured, wronged or damaged in some way are viewed by the jury as the little guy. This is the “David versus Goliath” analogy, and it is often a natural desire to want to see the little guy triumph over the giant. Accurate visual physical evidence may be the best defense against false perceptions and once armed with the truth as recorded by a non-biased digital recorder, the defense team will have a better chance in defending their companies interests.

Can Prove A Negative or Non-Event

Documented events, actions or lack of them, can help defend your driver, school district, or company against liability lawsuits. One of the most damaging to a persons reputation and hardest to defend against can be malicious, baseless or unfounded accusation against a person in authority by someone they are charged to protect. A single false claim that a driver sexually molested, fondled or made lewd, derogatory suggestive comments to a child can destroy a driver’s ability to work around children. It is impossible to prove something did not happen between 2 individuals when there is no evidence, witnesses of confession.

Can Help Criminal Documentation For Prosecution

Digital video systems can document incidents of; aggravated assaults, rape, hate crimes, bulling, and terrorist threats, for legal prosecution of the perpetrator in defense of the victim. It has been said that a picture tells a thousand words, and the additional supporting Metadata provided like date, time, GPS location, audio recording and all lateral and forward “G” force inertia data can fill in many details that would have been missing.

Can Help Prevent Vandalism

When vandals are documented they can be punished, protecting the fleet owner from unnecessary waste due to continued vandalism.

Can Provide Piece of Mind

In knowing you have taken positive public and verifiable steps to either stop or prevent unwanted behavior on your fleet vehicles. The knowledge that whether your fleet vehicles are around the corner or thousands of miles away the driver will be reminded of your driving behavior guidelines should they violate them. That they will now operate the vehicle with full accountability documented and encouraged by a 100% solid state digital Driver Training Device (DTD) as the professional driver they should be when representing your company on the roads.

Can Reduce Insurance Premium Costs

There are insurance companies who have just started a test program offering incentives to their insured fleet owners amounting to 25% off of that vehicles current annual premium when the XYwayCams are purchased and used by those fleets. The caveat for this large premium discount for that year of the purchase is that the insurance provider is provided video files for each accident claim made by that company.

Fleet owners get a device that can help them:

• Save up to 25% in wasted fuel,
• Document dangerous driving behavior that often leads to accidents,
• Offer drivers active driver alerts when they drive in an dangerous manor,
• Get a reduction of up to 25% from their insurance provider to cover that first year purchase

Insurance providers get access to documented video evidence: to use in court in defending their insured fleets in cases of:

• Insurance fraud by drivers, who may be staging accidents to win settlement claims,
• Document number of occupants involved in accident in other vehicle 
  
  (This number has been known to increase when claims go to court)
  
• Admission of guilt by non insured parties that may have caused or contributed to accident
• (Verbal admissions to your insured drivers are common in the immediate aftermath of an accident)
• Identify who was actually in the vehicle when it was involved in an accident.
• (Verify that the persons appearing in court are the same persons named in the police report)
• Verify the impact “G” force of the accident in minor bumps that are later greatly exaggerated.