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5 ways to focus on safety with GPS fleet tracking
For businesses that rely on vehicles and drivers to keep things running, safety is everything. Learn how GPS tracking...
Read moreWith a growing fleet comes growing expenses, and insurance prices are steadily rising—the cost of motor vehicle insurance has increased by 22.8% from January 2021 to March 2023.1 The more expensive the vehicle or asset, the more it will cost to insure; and the more vehicles and drivers in your fleet, the higher your insurance premiums, making scaling your fleet costly.
The good news? For many companies, insurance premiums can be discounted for fleets that engage in safety programs and maintain compliance with federal regulations.
By using telematics technology, fleets can simplify day-to-day management while easing growing pains. In a recent Fleet Technology Trends survey conducted by Bobit Business Media for Verizon Connect, organizations using fleet management technology report a 15% decrease, on average, in accident costs.2 In addition, with integrated video powered by AI, managers can reshape overall safety and efficiency for their fleet while potentially reducing the cost of insurance premiums.
Start with smart, integrated AI video
Integrated dashcams are one of the key technologies that can help fleet managers combat rising insurance costs. Forward-facing cameras help fleet managers to review on-the-road risks, and driver-facing cameras help identify driver habits and behavior like smoking, distraction, phone use and more. This helps mitigate the hefty expenses associated with distracted driving and can assist in exonerating drivers in the event of a false incident claim.
Smart dashcams also eliminate the need to sort through hours of footage looking for what happened in an incident. Advanced AI and edge computing enable continuous live scene analysis and object detection to help alert drivers of risk in real time, and quickly distill large volumes of video footage into meaningful categorized events—with tags and insights that provide detail into exactly what happened on the road and behind the wheel. Footage can then be used to show context, allowing the full picture of any incident to be viewed by drivers, fleet managers and insurance companies.
Develop a fleetwide culture of safety
Accidents and safety violations are the leading factor auto insurance companies use to determine insurance quotes and premiums. By implementing high expectations for safety behaviors throughout an entire organization, carriers and fleet managers can establish accountability to keep drivers safe and insurance costs under control.
Integrated video can help safety programs become more effective by:
- Enhancing existing driver training programs with real, reviewable examples of driving behavior like phone use or smoking as well as harsh driving habits.
- Providing factual accounts of unsafe driving incidents (e.g. harsh braking, hard cornering, rapid acceleration) and what driver behaviors may have led to incidents.
- Enabling fleet managers to customize and tailor coachable moments based on each driver’s unique style and specific needs.
- Integrating with telematics to provide driver scoring reports and dashboards based on safety performance, providing fleet managers with the option to add gamification to their safety program.
Stay ahead of fleet maintenance
For fleet managers, it is important to consider that distracted or harsh driving behaviors can lead to vehicle wear and tear which increases the frequency a vehicle may need to be maintained. For example, tires can become more worn with harsh braking leading to them needing to be replaced before schedule. Unmaintained vehicles can also be more dangerous on the road—for drivers and the general public. Keeping up with preventative maintenance and repairs on all vehicles can also help extend the value of the entire fleet—and assist when negotiating insurance premiums.
Taking even one vehicle out of service comes at a price to overall productivity (and by extension, the bottom line). Plus, fewer fleet vehicles due to unforeseen maintenance can impact your new business opportunities, affecting potential revenue streams. Prioritizing routine maintenance or needed repairs keeps vehicles on the road longer which can help to mitigate higher insurance costs associated with new fleet vehicles.
Monitor unauthorized vehicle use and help prevent against theft
Theft or unauthorized usage of both vehicles and assets can be costly—but telematics can help give visibility into all your high-value equipment. Vehicles used for non-business purposes increase wear and tear on a vehicle which leads to higher maintenance needs and costs over time. A GPS geofence can be drawn around a job site, business, residence or any physical location on a map, creating virtual boundaries to track company vehicles and assets around the clock. If vehicles are used outside of work hours or on weekends, or if drivers are taking equipment to unauthorized locations, managers can receive a near real-time alert straight to their mobile device. Asset trackers also act as a theft recovery device, allowing fleet managers to notify law enforcement of unauthorized use as soon as it happens—helping to speed up recovery and mitigate insurance claims for theft.
Simplify compliance without the paperwork
Most insurance companies provide a standard discount for proof of compliance with federal and state mandates. Telematics makes it easy to track DOT compliance, including hours-of-service rules (HOS), ELDs and driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs), simplifying administrative processes and reducing costly fines. This data is accessible in an easy-to-use report that can be used when negotiating rates with insurance providers for renewals.
How one company found savings with integrated video
Brad Medford of B.A.M. Trucking said his company was able to save $200,000 in insurance premiums by implementing integrated video across his trucking fleet. And when they received an accusation that their driver caused an accident, Brad was able to watch the video and see that the other vehicle had purposely stopped in front of their truck, causing the accident.
“She tried to sue us three different times, but with the video from Verizon Connect that we sent her, they dropped it each time,” he said. Office Manager Cindy Medford says the camera footage “probably saved us tens of thousands, just with one accident.”
Insurance discounts for GPS tracking systems
Many insurance companies provide a discount just for having a GPS tracking system and dashcams in place for your fleet. Some auto insurers also offer usage-based insurance (UBI) programs that track the number of miles driven and driving behavior to inform rates.
Smart video can also help coach driver behavior and mitigate business liability by providing visual context around harsh driving events, accidents and distracted driving. Objective video evidence gives you a defense to protect your reputation and bottom line.
Check with your auto insurer for more information on insurance program discounts, schedule a demo today to see how telematics can help with rising insurance premiums.
1 https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SETE?output_view=data
2 https://www.verizonconnect.com/resources/ebook/fleet-technology-trends-report/
