Lytx Extracts Safety Insights From 100 Billion Miles of Driving Data
AUSTIN, Texas — Lytx Inc., a supplier of video-based telematics systems for fleets, shared insights and trends about safety in the trucking industry based on 100 billion miles of driving data captured by its onboard recorders.
The provider of the DriveCam program addressed safety factors such as the times and places when risky driving and collisions tend to be most common during its “state of the data” presentation here Oct. 28 at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition.
Ryan Brandos, a Lytx data analyst, said the company derived its insights from anonymized data from its over-the-road trucking customers, which have deployed more than 116,000 in-cab event recorders.
Fundamental risky driving behaviors such as close following distances and traffic violations such as running red lights or stop signs tend to be most prevalent on Thursdays, he said.
In contrast, drowsy driving is most common on Tuesdays, a trend that Brandos suggested might be connected to drivers staying up late to watch Monday Night Football.
Risks related to driver awareness, such as late responses, failing to scan the roadway and distracted driving, take place most often on Fridays at the end of the work week.
“Generally speaking, the risk that we see in the fleets that we cover tends to start out relatively low on Monday and it gets progressively worse throughout the week, with Friday being the overall riskiest single day of the week,” Brandos said.
The presentation also revealed the times and days when collisions and near-collisions occur most often.
Brandos said the day of the week with the most collisions is Wednesday, with the highest risk between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. The day with the most near collisions is Friday, he said.
Regarding time of day, collisions are most common at night, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., while near-collisions are most frequent in the afternoon, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
In trucking, the risky driving behavior that Lytx captures most often is the driver failing to wear a seatbelt. The connection may not seem obvious, but the data indicates that not wearing a seatbelt has a high correlation with collision risk, Brandos said.
“What we think is the case here is a driver who was willing to take a chance with their personal safety by not wearing a seatbelt is also willing to take a chance with vehicle safety,” he said. “It’s kind of an attitude issue.”
Days and times with the most collisions, based on 100 billion miles of driving data captured by Lytx Inc. #ATAmce18 pic.twitter.com/OO8JY2tQjd — Seth Clevenger (@SethClevenger) October 28, 2018
Brandos said Lytx works to incorporate these data-driven safety insights into its efforts to support fleet safety programs and driver coaching.
“One of the things we really try to strive for is to push this directly into the coaching sphere immediately and let the coaches take that to the drivers and inform them, because the best use of this data is to help try and change that behavior,” he said.
According to Lytx’s data, the fop five riskiest stretches of road in North America for truck drivers this year through September were:
- Pennsylvania Rt. 309 near Vera Cruz Road, Upper Saucon Township south of Allentown
- Pennsylvania Rt. 309 near W. Emmaus Avenue, Allentown, southeast of Queen City Municipal Airport
- Pennsylvania Rt. 181 near Crooked Hill Road, Susquehanna Township east of Harrisburg Area Community College
- Tennessee Interstate 40 near Green Hill Road, Dandridge, east of Knoxville
- Tennessee Interstate 24 near Belvoir Avenue, Chattanooga, southwest of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport
A demonstration at the Lytx booth by John Sommers II for Transport Topics
