Driver Scoring is Broken: The Next Generation of Accident Reduction Strategy is Here
When a fleet vehicle is on the road, the stakes are high. Both safety managers and drivers are under pressure to prevent accidents and reduce risk—and both rely on the same tool to gauge a driver’s performance behind the wheel: driver scoring technology.
Driver scoring is intended as an objective way to assess and improve driver safety. It’s now a staple of the industry. But there’s a problem: it fails to deliver on its stated objective effectively.
When it comes to providing safety leaders with the information they truly need to reduce accidents, existing systems come up short. Meanwhile, drivers lack a clear picture of how to improve their skills or understand whether they’re actually safe drivers.
When you get down to it, driver scoring 1.0 functions more like a box to be checked rather than a genuinely useful tool that bolsters business and gets people home safely. Safety managers and drivers — and everyone on the road — deserve better than the status quo.
Fortunately, a better solution is here. Driver scoring 2.0 fills the gaps left by today’s legacy systems with standardized scoring built on a combination of AI, edge computing, full-service telematics, and the analysis of millions of data points.
What’s fueling the need for more impactful driver scoring? Financial pressures, legal complexities, and the myriad demands on safety managers underscore the importance of reliable data for improving safety within fleets. Here’s a closer look at some of the key areas that contribute to the need for better driver scoring.
Rising cost of accidents
Accidents not only jeopardize lives; they also create significant financial consequences for fleets. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over half a million large trucks were involved in accidents in 2021. And the average accident costs between $16,000 and $75,000, according to Automotive Fleet. If there’s an injury or fatality, those costs balloon.
Expenses encompass direct costs such as vehicle repairs, insurance deductibles, and workers’ compensation and fines. Indirect costs include administrative time, lost productivity, and damage to the company’s reputation.
Rising insurance rates
As a consequence of accidents and legal settlements, companies grapple with another expense: increased insurance premiums. Over the past decade, premiums have surged dramatically, with ATRI research revealing a 47% increase in commercial truck insurance premiums per mile, from 5.9 cents to 8.7 cents. As accidents and insurance premiums increase, so does the financial burden on companies.
Navigating complex responsibilities
Safety leaders shoulder weighty responsibilities, including accident prevention, risk reduction, compliance, and reducing high operational costs. They’re also tasked with training new and existing drivers. Balancing these responsibilities creates challenges, particularly in providing relevant and meaningful coaching to individual drivers — especially with partial driver scores and data. As a result, training and the use of inward-facing cameras are often associated with punishment rather than fostering engagement with drivers.
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