Advanced Technologies: How are They Shaping Driver Behaviors?
Autonomous vehicle technologies can improve driver behaviors and ultimately eliminate collisions. In this session at RIMS 2021, Rich Bleser, SVP – Fleet Safety and Specialty Practice Leader for Marsh Advisory shares insight into the value of advanced technologies for fleets of all sizes and demographics.
Current State of the Fleet Environment
With a rise in commerce and a lack of drivers to accommodate demand needs, fleets are seeing a rise in collision settlements, traffic fatalities and insurance costs. To combat these issues, proactive fleet operators are enhancing their efforts through better driver selection and driving practices, and investing in safety technologies.
Telematics Data
Telematics data has been in use, recording data from our own driving practices for over a decade now. Telematics operates through extracting vehicle data and identifying behavioral trends. A few items to consider when utilizing telematics:
- Data-based driving behavior monitoring captures:
- Rapid deceleration – hard braking
- Rapid acceleration
- Speed
- Sharp cornering
- Need to validate data
- Remember that some instances above may be necessary in certain circumstances and merit positive reinforcement. For example, if a driver has a vehicle sharply turn in front of them, hard braking is essential to avoid a collision.
- Potential data overload
- While capturing data is very important, it’s worse to have the data and not do anything with it than to not capture data at all. Investigate the data you have and reinforce good behavioral trends.
- Driver scorecards
- These can help shape driver behaviors, but remember to use it for positive habits and not only highlight the negative events.
Video Event Recording Device (VERD)
Video technology has come a long way from the legacy versions that required reviewing of endless hours of recordings. Now, event-based technology allows for triggered video footage that records around events, capturing details of a specific behavioral instance. Other benefits of video event recording devices include:
- Artificial Intelligence, Machine Computing, Computer Vision
- Uses leading indicators that are behavior-based:
- Recognizes at-risk behaviors prior to a triggering event
- Identifies:
- Fatigued, drowsy, distracted driving
- Speed vs. posted limits
- Following distances
- Rolling stops – red light infractions
- Key Features:
- In-vehicle real-time notifications often with verbal commands
- Uses leading indicators that are behavior-based:
- Forward and Driver Facing Views
- Most effective long-term behavioral change
- Scorecards
- Driver and operations/divisions
- Proactive companies are using the data to enhance training
In a sample of ten fleets of similar sizes, those that fully incorporated VERD technology saw one-fourth the collision rates of those that have yet to implement a VERD. Some companies are hesitant to include this technology for fear that they will see more driver turnover, but when used properly, post-implementation there is statistically less driver turnover. Fleets using VERD technology also saw an average claims cost $2500 less than those without and a major reduction in overall claims.
Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS)
Advanced driver assist systems are becoming more common in passenger vehicles, offering warnings to drivers to prevent collisions. Although this technology is not available to all fleet types and cannot entirely mitigate a collision since it depends on a driver to react, it can reduce the overall severity of collisions. A few of the features of ADAS include:
- Semi-Autonomous Technologies (L1-L3 Autonomy)
- Passive
- Blind spot detection
- Lane departure warning
- Forward collision warning
- Backing alerts
- Proximity Warnings
- Active
- Adaptive cruise control
- Park assist
- Lane keep
- Automatic braking
- Passive
It’s important to remember that this technology cannot be looked at as a safety net or an autopilot. Drivers need to understand that this should be used to assist with other good behaviors. In fact, when coupled with great driver behaviors, fleets using ADAS saw 53% less claims than those not using it, with less than half of those claims moving to litigation.
You can’t manage what is not measured, so using these technologies to report and monitor behaviors can effectively enhance training and reinforce safe drivers.