3 ways technology improves accident management

Even with a strong driver safety program, Automotive Fleet quotes a commercial fleet accident rate of approximately 20%. When an incident does occur, safety is the biggest priority.
 
However, almost every fleet owner will tell you they’re also worried about business taking a hit for any number of reasons – higher insurance rates, collecting evidence to defend the driver and a vehicle out of commission are just a few.
 
Fleet safety software is greatly improving the process and making it easier for fleet managers – back in the office – to move things along efficiently following an incident, so risk and financial impact is minimized. Here are three ways it’s doing so:
 
Capturing live footage & accurate data
Post-accident, fleet managers need to gather all the data related to an accident. A clear First Notice of Loss (FNOL) policy helps ensure drivers report accidents as soon as they happen and with as much detail as possible. Still, there is often missing information and a delay in getting a full enough picture to start making decisions.
 
GPS fleet tracking automatically captures important data such as speed and time of day. Many fleets today also equip their trucks with dashboard cameras, which provide a visual recounting of the accident.
 
This data gives fleet managers enough insight to set next steps into motion, whether calling a local repair shop, sending a new driver or truck to complete the job, calling their insurer, or identifying a temporary replacement vehicle so customer needs are still met.
 
Serving as court and claims evidence
In most cases, the recounting of the accident is one person’s word against the other’s. An accurate replay lets you determine exactly how the incident occurred and who was involved. It’s often admissible court evidence and, if necessary, can be used to defend your driver.
 
It also makes for strong support on insurance claims and many insurance companies today prefer camera evidence. The footage can help you get the fullest set of loss recoveries possible and avoid hefty insurance premium increases.  
 
Turning incidents into coaching moments
The ability to replay an incident and interact with the footage by pausing or rewinding allows you to understand exactly how drivers are conducting their vehicles. It gives you more context around other factors that contributed to an incident, whether it was weather, poor signage or another driver’s behavior. This can all be used to further train drivers on the impact of behaviors like harsh braking, cornering, acceleration and speeding. A visual aid also gives drivers a far more effective training experience than conversation alone.
 
With this broader context, you can also start to educate drivers about not only their own safe driving practices, but how to better share the road and respond to others driving in an unsafe way. After all, there are no accidents – just incidents – and training is key to avoiding them.
 
To learn more about how a safety solution with dashboard cameras can help your accident management, visit: Fleet Safety Solution