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Motive Introduces Service to Expedite Aid for Truck Drivers

New First Responder Feature Speeds Up Emergency Assistance After Severe Crashes
Abhishek Gupta
Abhishek Gupta, vice president of product at Motive, introduces the First Responder feature, which reduces the amount of time it takes for 911 to verify incidents and dispatch first responders. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In-cab technology provider Motive has introduced a first responder service that expedites lifesaving assistance for commercial truck drivers in the event of a severe crash.

The new feature, dubbed First Responder, ensures drivers receive prompt help by quickly sharing key information with emergency services when Motive’s system detects a collision.

The new service reduces the amount of time it takes for 911 to verify incidents and dispatch first responders during situations in which every minute can mean the difference between life and death.



Motive developed First Responder in partnership with RapidSOS, a company that delivers urgent safety data from connected devices and sensors to public safety agencies.

“First Responder transforms the way we support drivers in a collision and will save lives,” said Shoaib Makani, Motive’s co-founder and CEO. “By reducing the time it takes for 911 to verify incidents and dispatch help, we are taking a critical step toward achieving zero harm and zero preventable accidents, keeping everyone on the road safer.”

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Shoaib Makani

Makani 

The company unveiled its First Responder service at an Oct. 13 press event held in conjunction with American Trucking Associations’ 2024 Management Conference & Exhibition.

Motive said its in-cab technology uses artificial intelligence to detect 99% of severe collisions within seconds. The company reviews each safety event video to eliminate false positives and ensure only verified incidents trigger alerts.

Now, the First Responder feature improves the speed and accuracy of emergency response by sending data, such as vehicle location, the driver’s name, vehicle make and model, and license plate number, directly to first responders.

The service also shares live updates with safety managers so they know that first responders have been notified and provides a priority phone number that customers can use to immediately connect with emergency dispatchers near the collision.

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Jared Whitson

Whitson 

Jared Whitson, director of safety at the Bennett Family of Cos., said Motive’s AI-powered collision detection and First Responder will bring “an essential layer of safety to drivers.”

“I cannot overstate the importance of a technology that initiates rapid emergency response,” Whitson said. “The preservation of life and the prevention of further injury is dependent on seconds, not minutes.”

Bennett, based in McDonough, Ga., ranks No. 39 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.

Also, Motive presented updated U.S. road safety insights based on crash data from 120,000 customers using its technology.

The company found that the holiday season is especially dangerous, citing a 32% increase in commercial truck crash rates on Christmas Day compared with the rest of December, along with a 10% increase in speeding events in the week leading up to Christmas.

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Christmas saw the highest crash rate among all U.S. holidays, followed by Martin Luther King Jr. Day, New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Motive also found that commercial vehicle collisions in the U.S. occur most frequently on weekdays between 4 and 6 p.m.

Motive, formerly known as KeepTruckin, offers a range of fleet management technologies and services aimed at enhancing safety, efficiency and regulatory compliance, including electronic driver logs, fleet tracking, driver safety and equipment monitoring, dash cameras and AI-enabled drowsiness detection and forward collision warnings.