This year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, which took place from July 13 to July 19, was the perfect reminder to ensure your drivers are prepared for the road ahead. From equipment and vehicle breakdowns to emergency roadside service events, it is essential to equip your drivers with the proper tools, training and data so they can pivot quickly and avoid any incidents on and off the road.
MICHELIN Connected Fleet understands the importance driver safety plays in your fleet management strategy. Armed with the right tools and insights into driver performance, you can better ensure driver safety, cut down on costly maintenance events and enhance fleet efficiency. In this blog, MICHELIN Connected Fleet outlines several ways fleet managers and leaders can use connected fleet technology, driver training and data insights to optimize driver performance.
In peak seasons, idling can eat up to 50% of productive time. This poses a serious risk to the safety of your fleet. When drivers are idle for long periods of time, they may actually become more fatigued due to disrupted sleep schedules, which can reduce alertness. Additionally, this can disrupt reaction time, concentration and judgement. If judgment is impaired, this can lead to risky driving behaviors that put everyone on the road in danger.
Connected fleet technology and equipment can play a critical role in supporting driver safety, specifically camera technology. These solutions are designed to provide superior visibility for both drivers and fleet managers. Machine Vision and Artificial Intelligence (MV+AI) technologies from MICHELIN Connected Fleet work together to spot unsafe or distracted driver behaviors in real time. This driver monitoring footage can then be used in training to provide constructive feedback.
The use of interior cameras helps to keep drivers responsible for their actions, greatly reducing the temptation to reach for a cell phone or take a bite of food. 3,275 lives were claimed in 2023 as a result of distracted driving. The usage of cameras helps fleet managers stop distracted driving before it endangers others. Additionally, cameras provide objective records that can help to protect drivers from legal trouble and provide faster claim resolutions if an incident should take place.
According to an FMCSA report, truck driver behavior is the cause of 88% of commercial vehicle incidents. That’s why driver training is essential to your fleet management safety strategy. Training drivers can enhance performance both in standard operation and in case of emergencies. Training can help improve defensive driving skills, which can help reduce aggressive behavior practices like harsh braking, sharp turns and speeding and teach drivers how to respond appropriately to hazards. Proper training also helps ensure that drivers learn safe driving practices that follow and are compliant with federal regulations to prevent accidents before they happen. Connected fleet technology provides insight to both the drivers and the fleet team to support one-on-one training for individual drivers or support fleet wide.
Data insights are paramount to driver safety, as they take raw data and translate it into ways aimed at reducing risks and enhancing performance. Installing fleet tracking solutions can help identify risky behavior and enable real-time alerts and manager intervention. This information can be used in targeted training to support incident prevention. Additionally, data can be used to monitor vehicle performance, speeding rates and help mitigate breakdowns and mechanical failures to ensure maximum fleet efficiency. With real-time tracking technology, drivers receive posted speed alerts to help them keep track of their performance on the road. This, in turn, can be used by fleet managers to monitor driving patterns like speeding, which can inform training.
Connected fleet data takes the guessing out of your fleet management strategy, helping provide clear insights into driver behavior and helping you make the right decisions for your business.
The importance of driver safety goes beyond your fleet. Several states offer sponsorship programs, including New York's Truck Voucher Program and the Illinois Clean Energy Program, to improve safety telematics and crash prevention technologies. This helps offset the cost of fleet management solutions and may even lead to reductions in insurance premiums. Our MICHELIN Connected Fleet team can help you understand more about these programs through our consultative safety management approach.
We want to provide you with the right tools to ensure that your drivers, vehicles, and others on the road are safe. Contact us to see how we can support your fleet safety management plan today.