Tag: liability

Road Accidents: 7 Statistics You Shouldn't Ignore

Road Accidents: 7 Statistics You Shouldn’t Ignore

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on Road Accidents: 7 Statistics You Shouldn’t Ignore

Fleet managers can’t create a culture of safety within their organization without first acknowledging the role that road accidents plays in their day-to-day operations.

There is an alarming increase of late in road accidents; on average, collisions cost fleet companies up to $75,000 in associated damages and it seems the numbers are climbing.

With this in mind, many companies are opting to implement measures to mitigate and ensure both driver and vehicle safety. In this article, we’ll discuss the unsettling numbers, facts and statistics with regards to road safety that should give you pause.

1. Drivers Who Have Previous Infractions are More Likely to be Involved in Fatal Road Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that a staggering 21% of large truck drivers who had a prior record of non-fatal collisions were involved in fatal road accidents in 2020. 

What’s more, 19% of all drivers involved in deadly incidents had at least one speeding violation on their record.

2. Large Trucks Make Up 9% of Vehicles Involved in Deadly Collisions

It may not come as a surprise, but large trucks currently account for over 9% of vehicles involved in fatal crashes on the road, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). The same report says that these incidents caused a total of 107,000 injuries and 4,842 fatalities in 2020 alone.

Of those who died, 17% were the occupants of a truck, 71% of passenger vehicles and 12% cyclists or pedestrians. The majority of fatalities (63%) occurred during daylight hours as well,  which goes to show that truck safety is an issue that impacts everyone, day or night.

3. Over 1.35 Million People Die in Road Collisions Every Year

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.35 million people die each year as a result of crashes, with young males representing the majority of fatalities. 

The WHO also reports that traffic accidents are currently the leading cause of death among people aged between 15-29 years old.

These accidents are also the eighth leading cause of death globally for all age groups, a rank that the WHO predicts will rise to seventh place by the year 2030.

4. Speeding is Directly Linked to a Higher Likelihood of Death in Road Collisions

There is a direct correlation between speeding and death as a result of an auto collision. So much so in fact, that the WHO reports that for every 1% a driver increases speed over the limit, there is an associated 3% increase in the severity of a potential crash and a 4% higher likelihood of it resulting in death.

To put this into context, your risk of dying in a crash would increase by 40% just by going 10 kilometres faster in a 100 km/h zone.

5. Road Accidents Will Cost the Global Economy $1.8 Trillion by the Year 2030

Road crashes aren’t just deadly – they’re expensive too. 

According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), both non-fatal and fatal collisions cost the global economy the equivalent of a yearly tax rate of 0.12%. This is expected to amount to a total of $1.8 trillion by the year 2030.

On a smaller but no less significant scale, road accidents cost companies tens of thousands of dollars in replacement vehicles, insurance premiums and liability suits. 

It’s estimated that a collision can cost somewhere between $16,000-$75,000, and those numbers can skyrocket if there’s a death involved.

6. Almost Half of Road Fatalities Involve Cases in Which Occupants Were Not Wearing Seat belts

Despite the implementation of seat belt laws in the 1960s, nearly 10% of Americans do not use them, according to 2021 NHTSA data. 

Findings show that 47 percent of all road fatalities in the United States involved cases where passengers were not wearing seat belts, and that 55 percent of people killed at night were also without seat belts on.

Approximately 7% of Canadians don’t wear seat belts, according to Transport Canada, which accounts for 40% of deaths in road collisions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adds that airbags are built to protect people wearing a seat belt in their seats correctly. The force of an airbag inflating could harm or kill you if you are not properly buckled up.

7. Distracted Drivers Are up to Four Times More Likely to be Involved in Road Accidents

It’s no secret that distracted driving is a major problem on the roads, but just how big of an issue is it?

According to the CAA, distracted drivers are up to four times more likely to be involved in a collision than those who are not distracted. The CAA lists things like talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to passengers, fiddling with the music, and even daydreaming as distractions that could lead to an accident. 

In fact, taking your eyes off the road for as little as two seconds can double your risk of crashing.

The good news? Knowledge is power. There will always be risks associated with your fleet on the road, but an ounce of prevention and rigorous attention to safety can help you and your drivers prevent accidents before they happen.

Nuclear Verdict, dash camera, dashcam, telematics, gofleet, truck, logistics, trucking, accident, colllision

The Nuclear Verdict: How Commercial Dash Cams Can Save Your Business Money

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on The Nuclear Verdict: How Commercial Dash Cams Can Save Your Business Money

When a jury awards a plaintiff payout in excess of $10 million, that payout is referred to as a “nuclear verdict”. If a member of your fleet has been involved in a vehicle incident that results in one of these verdicts, the results for your business could be catastrophic.

 

According to CNBC, the average amount for a lawsuit above $1 million involving a truck collision has increased nearly 1,000%,from $2.3 million to $22.3 million in the U.S. between 2010 to 2018. Nuclear verdicts are driving up insurance rates for fleets, and increasing associated costs for those trucking companies to insure them as a result. To absorb some of the costs, large operators are scaling back on insurance, putting them at greater risk if an accident were to occur. Unable to afford inflated deductibles or premiums, smaller fleets are folding altogether.

 

One major reason for nuclear verdicts arises from a disconnect between negligence and liability. Because large organizations with massive fleets are assumed to have more resources (i.e. more insurance), they are typically targeted for payouts, even if they’re not entirely at fault. For example, there are cases where a company can be identified as 10% negligent and still have to cover 100% of the financial liability.

 

Another reason for these excessive payouts includes an uptick in fatal accidents involving trucks. According to the National Safety Council, there was a 43% increase in deadly collisions involving large trucks between 2010 and 2019. The number of injuries associated with truck crashes rose that year to 160,000 (7%), the majority of which were occupants from other vehicles.

 

Assessing risk on the road has long been considered integral to the cost of doing business for every trucking organization. Fortunately, dash cameras not only help with safety initiatives in fleets, they also have a return on investment that can help fleets stay afloat amid mounting insurance concerns.

 

Dash cams and telematics

An increase in nuclear verdicts results in higher prices for liability insurance and reduced access to casualty or excess liability insurance, resulting in some carriers leaving that particular line of business and causing many in the trucking industry to worry about the potential impact a single loss could have on their bottom line.

 

This is where dash cams and telematics can be essential tools to help manage risk. In fact, these devices may one day become a requirement in order to get insurance for your fleet. Where once insurance companies only looked at claims regarding trucks, they will now start gathering data to get a holistic overview of driving behaviour, dash cam footage and a fleet’s hiring practices.

 

Many insurance companies look favourably on commercial vehicles with dash cams installed, and in some cases this small step can result in a reduction in insurance premiums. Furthermore, a dash cam will certainly protect a business from false insurance claims. Commercial dash cam footage is now widely accepted by most insurance companies as evidence to help speed up the claims process.

Dash cams can:

  • Prevent fraudulent insurance claims (i.e. “crash for cash”)
  • Protect your drivers and assets
  • Identify liable parties and exonerate your drivers

 

There are other ways that dash cams and telematics systems can improve an organization’s coffers, beyond insurance premiums. For one, dash cams not only tell a fleet manager what’s happening on the road, but what’s taking place inside the cabin. Is the driver sleeping? On his phone or otherwise distracted? Being alerted to risky driving behaviour helps you identify culpability while improving good driving habits in your fleet.

 

Dash cams can also help you reduce fuel consumption. Your telematics platform can trigger an alert if a vehicle is idling, for example, and can optimize driving routes to increase efficiency, shorten trips and save fuel. Regardless of your industry, dash cams and telematics help fleets and organizations streamline their processes from top to bottom line.

 

Conclusion 

 

Telematics is becoming an industry-wide practice, one that can positively impact an organization’s return on investment. A knowledgeable insurance broker will educate your business on how to meet requirements and will help you secure insurance at the best possible price. Similarly, your GoFleet consultant will help you find a telematics solution that best uses dash cam technology to protect your business and your drivers. Contact us today for a free estimate and demonstration.

asset trackers, tracking, business, fleet

How The Frequency Of Asset Tracking Updates Makes A Difference

Posted on | by Victoria Gole | Leave a Comment on How The Frequency Of Asset Tracking Updates Makes A Difference

Telematics has been the key to improving fleets over the past several years. It all began with asset trackers, a solution to track data about various aspects of a vehicle to enhance fleet processes. With developing technologies, asset trackers are improving in terms of their ping rate, the rate at which the data is updated. Increasing ping rate has led to the invention of live tracking and helped improve scenarios of theft and liability insurance.

Live Tracking – Updating Data Per Second

Setting up constant pings allows fleets to know the exact location and other variables about a vehicle every second. With live tracking, fleets have better communication with their drivers, allowing them to give better instructions allowing them to finish tasks faster. This real time tracking enables fleets to increase the amount of service calls per day by approximately 23%. Fleets are able to keep an eye on their drivers and drivers being aware about this, improve their driving habits to proper standards. 

A faster ping rate also allows for faster response rate. On average, the drivers that are monitored with a real-time tracking system arrive within the promised response time 46% more often. With better driving taking place, fleets can manage their expenses effectively by decreasing idle times, improving dispatching and routing, monitoring speed and getting an alert to stay informed of necessary vehicle maintenance.

Live tracking opens up ways for not having to rely on drivers to record all their mileage logs. This information will automatically be calculated and reported by the real time tracking system. One of our solutions the GO9, implements live tracking offering industries fastest updates along with several other features. 

What differentiates the GO9 from the rest is that the framework provided is built around new technologies and platforms and has extended capabilities related to electric vehicles and global expansion. 

Moreover, the addition of the gyroscope is what makes the difference. The gyroscope within the GO9 enriches data with additional granularity. It improves on the current X/Y/Z axis acceleration logging by providing a real time sense of the vehicle’s orientation. This results in better accuracy with tracking and analyzing vehicle movement. This is beneficial specifically on winding or bumpy roads and more importantly, for collision reconstruction where a second by second breakdown of events is required. 

 

Theft Reduction – How Fast Ping Rates Mean Fast Asset Recovery

As mentioned before, the higher the ping rate, the higher the frequency of updates and the more accurate data fleets have to work with. This is especially beneficial for scenarios where theft is being dealt with. Imagine sitting at a desk and looking over a spreadsheet of assets when suddenly, an asset worth $150,000 is unaccounted for. How will it be recovered?

Unfortunately, recovery of stolen equipment is not as common as it should be. Thieves often are able to make off with expensive equipment before getting caught. This is a result of delays in discovery and reporting of thefts, nonexistent or inaccurate records and confusing equipment identification systems. 

Asset tracking makes it simple. It allows fleets to monitor the last known location of assets, whether an asset is on or off, and if it’s idling or actively moving. Depending on the solution implemented, it can provide fleets with additional data including pressure, temperature, travel speed, acceleration and deceleration. 

Proper tracking eliminates the delay in the reporting of equipment theft and can also track the location of the stolen item. It also provides you with documented data that law enforcement can use in the event of theft. 

Another type of enforcement, geofencing, also known as a virtual boundary, can be set in place for any geographic area. If an asset were to travel outside or enters into any set geofence perimeter, alerts can be set to automatically notify fleets about the movement. This enables you to track when employees arrive at or leave a job site, receive confirmation when a shipment arrives at a delivery location and mark a specific area as a “no entry” zone for any given asset.   

 

Liability Insurance – Ensuring Costs Remain Within Budget

Fleets relying on vehicles to conduct day to day business invest a great amount in mobile assets and expect a return on investment. Along with the more expected costs of fuel and maintenance, fleets can incur significant hidden expenses and increase liability. 

All businesses with fleets shouldn’t only be concerned with their driver’s safety but also be aware of the risks related to liability exposure. To minimize risks, asset tracking solutions can be implemented to stay proactive to see potential problems and resolve them. 

Improving safety standards should be a top priority as improper safety procedures can put companies at risk and quickly increase their liability for damages incurred by anyone injured in an accident with one of its vehicles. 

Unauthorized vehicle use can open fleets to a range of liability problems. Faster ping rates can notify fleets when assets are in use outside of work hours, where they’re being taken at all times during the day and confirm use with historical route data. 

Improper maintenance of assets can lead to serious accidents. It is important for fleet managers to be proactive in vehicle upkeep to keep their employees safe and reduce the chances of malfunction on the road. Ensuring fleets stay on track of their preventive maintenance schedule is crucial with the use of alerts set by calendar day, engine on-time, or mileage. 

Introducing asset trackers that implement live tracking may seem like an added cost to the budget, but it can save fleets significant amounts in the long run. It will enforce safety procedures and maintenance schedules while better training fleet managers and tracking employees. If your business is looking for a way to reduce overall fleet costs while increasing liability protection, contact our specialists to implement the right fleet tracking software.