Case Study | Improving Driver Safety

According to the FMCSA, 73 percent of all accidents that cause fatalities involve commercial vehicles. Excessive speeding and aggressive driving can lead to accidents and presents a tremendous liability for any fleet operator. Chris Weeks’ company, RLG Builds, is a mechanical contractor that uses FieldLogix to monitor his 70 vehicle fleet. James Jereczek is the fleet manager for Semper Solaris, a rapidly growing solar installation company that operates over 100 vehicles and uses FieldLogix to closely track his technician’s activities. Weeks’ and Jereczek’s organizations might have significantly different operational missions, but the need to monitor every vehicle’s location, as well as the driver’s performance behind the wheel, are critical factors not only in lowering vehicle operational costs, but also preventing traffic liability issues. FieldLogix’s GPS Fleet Tracking System allows its customers to easily manage both.

Research from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration emphasizes the need for fleet managers to view reducing traffic accidents as a top priority. In 2016, the Department of Transportation agency reported that the estimated cost of a “basic health and property damage” claim following an accident averaged $334,892 per incident. Additionally, if a fatality was involved during that reporting year, the average cost for a settlement hovered around an astounding $2.2 million.

Mike Ezell, who represents trucking firms in the U.S. as their defense attorney in claims litigation, said firms who implement an operational program that monitors the employee’s driving habits can play a major role in lowering the costs of a lawsuit settlement. Typically referred to as negligence training, Ezell said demonstrating this to a plaintiff attorney gives him an “extra arrow” in case litigation, especially when there is an injury or death involved.

Dee Walker, a Texas commercial insurance agent with Texas Rick Protection Managers, said his insurance companies typically pull the motor vehicle reports of all drivers covered under the policy. He said that firms using fleet monitoring systems are offered rate reductions of 10 to 15 percent.

After installing FieldLogix’s software into their fleet vehicles, Weeks said he saw a significant decline in speeding tickets. Prior to implementing the FieldLogix fleet management solution, his team of 70 air conditioning repair technicians were averaging about three speeding tickets per month. Now, the RLG fleet averages six tickets per year, which is a 83% reduction in speeding tickets.

Additionally, due to the importance his company places on safety, Jereczek has made receiving a speeding ticket grounds for termination from his company “We focus on safety as our vehicles haul a lot of gear, he said. Luckily, his techs have only had “a handful of accidents.”

As you can see, incorporating FieldLogix’s technology with your vehicle fleet can help you catch and eliminate unsafe driving behavior as it occurs to avoid accidents and legal issues. “If you manage a fleet of air conditioning vehicles and are not considering the use of a field resource management system, it’s time to look at the long-term benefits,” Yukon Palmer, FieldLogix Chief Service Promoter said. “Customer satisfaction and on-time repairs top the list. Yet, it’s lowering the repair costs and more importantly, the possible insurance claim that results from an unfortunate accident that should motivate an owner to truly consider the merits of adding it to your operational and risk management considerations.”