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While it may be true that you can’t put a price on safety, you can, unfortunately, attach a cost. According to a recent report on work-related motor vehicle collisions, “the average crash costs an employer $16,500. When a worker has an on-the-job crash that results in an injury, the cost to their employer is $74,000.” Data from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 95% of automobile accidents involve human error, and 25% are caused by distracted driving.
These are the numbers that motivate my team every day.
We're always trying to breathe safety into everything people do. It's dangerous being out there on the road, so we're always looking for opportunities to reduce collisions and injuries.
Fleet management data analytics helps you take a more proactive approach to driver safety. DriverCare Connect is part of a suite of connected solutions that monitors driver behavior such as speeding, hard acceleration, and hard braking in real-time. Launched in 2022, the platform takes the burden of managing driver remediation training off fleet leaders. It automatically schedules additional training if the driver’s score dips below a preset threshold.
Drivers can view a dashboard that uses data analytics to show their current performance scores, as well as where they rank compared to their peers in the following categories.
Overall weighted score
Speeding over posted limit
Speeding over fixed threshold
Hard braking
Harsh acceleration
Hard cornering
Seatbelt use
The visibility and transparency provided by the dashboard creates an opportunity for drivers to self-correct in areas where they may not have realized there was an issue. It also gives fleet and field managers an opportunity to correct driver tendencies where needed, as well as recognize strong performance.
The platform provides a score in each of the subcategories and weighs those scores according to client preferences. The client can change the weighting at any point if they want to focus on one or two areas.
The old way of addressing driver behavior was more reactive than proactive. By having connected solutions data now, we can detect tendencies and provide online training to remediate the driver so they don't get into that first collision.
In 2023, clients on Element's safety program collectively avoided approximately 10,508 collisions compared to Element clients that are not using the safety program or product.
A quick look at one client's case study clearly illustrates how fleet data management, through connected solutions, moved the needle in a meaningful way.
This chart shows score improvements after drivers underwent remediation training. Drivers improved their speeding and seatbelt use performance by 64% and 69% respectively. In all other categories, drivers improved by a range of 21% to 34%. This has resulted in an estimated 51 preventable collisions avoided for the client. This number is due in large part to the significant improvement in speed threshold scores.
The new path forged by DriverCare Connect is its ability to use fleet management predictive analytics to identify the “under the radar” drivers (people who have never been in an accident) who are showing driving tendencies that may lead to collisions. For this client alone, the platform assigned 26,151 training modules to 8,084 drivers who otherwise would not have been assigned additional training without the connected solutions data.
This is good for the drivers and good for their employers.
The overwhelming reaction from fleet and business leaders has been astonishment at the platform’s ability to reduce incidents and, by extension, reduce costs. One look at the numbers and it’s easy to see how this technology is opening eyes.
The estimated 10,508 collisions avoided in 2023 translates into $429 million saved for Element clients using the platform.
Another client with a service fleet of more than 6,000 drivers sought to reduce their 16.4% collision rate. Element’s safety program helped them avoid 1,109 collisions, marking a 29.3% reduction. In turn, this netted a combined savings of $26.6 million over five years.
Direct savings only tells part of the story. When factoring in all the ways connected solutions help fleet safety and reduce an organization’s total cost of ownership (TCO), other factors, such as reduced administrative hours and liability protection, must also be considered. Organizations that have access to driver issues, but don't act to address them are at risk. They may be leaving themselves open to nuclear verdicts (large jury verdicts, typically over $10 million) in driver-caused accidents involving injury or death.
By automatically addressing driver issues, we're not only reducing the administrative burden, but also giving fleet leaders peace of mind. They can rest assured that they are doing everything in their power to prevent these incidents from happening.
As impressive as $429 million in reduced costs may be, it's not the main motivating factor for our team. The other offshoot from those 10,508 avoided accidents is what it means in terms of the human factor. In total, 4,566 injuries were avoided, as well as an estimated 71 lives saved.
That 71 number is what we’re most proud of, and it’s really a credit to everyone in the organization - from our people out there selling the product to those building and implementing it.
The benefit of safer roads extends beyond just the drivers during work hours.
Once a driver completes a training module, it's available for up to 30 days after, and we encourage them to share that training module with other family members. It's in all our best interests to have safer, better-trained drivers sharing the road.
Today’s connected solutions present new opportunities for fleet leaders to improve driver performance, while reducing collision-related costs. Reach out to Element’s team of trusted experts to find out what fleet management analytics can do for your organization.
