To summarize the study’s key findings:
- American drivers have major misperceptions around the level of danger posed by commercial drivers. Eighty-three percent of survey respondents believe they are safer drivers than most drivers of commercial vehicles. But the reality is that only 3% of all severe crashes in the U.S. involve commercial trucks.
- So, why does the perception of unsafe commercial drivers persist? The study reveals an overwhelming majority of American drivers say they have witnessed a commercial vehicle driving dangerously. Eighty-one percent of respondents said they have witnessed a commercial vehicle being driven dangerously on the road, with more than half (54%) of those also saying they have also witnessed an accident involving a commercial vehicle.
- Drivers behaving badly: More than 2 in 3 (69%) people who have witnessed a commercial vehicle driving dangerously have seen a commercial vehicle speeding on the highway. Other top dangerous maneuvers that have been observed include abrupt lane changes (55%), driving erratically – e.g. swerving in and out of lanes (46%), running or nearly running off the road (38%) and taking turns or corners too quickly (37%).
- People by far believe the most effective way to reduce the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles is to monitor drivers when they are on the road. Nearly 3 in 4 (74%) respondents agreed that commercial vehicle drivers shouldn’t be allowed on the road without a dashboard camera or some sort of video monitoring of their driving habits. Forty-two percent believe installing a dashboard camera is the number one way to reduce the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles.
Verizon Connect recently launched a new smart video solution, Verizon Connect Integrated Video, bringing advanced AI- and IoT-based technology to fleets and fleet managers. The smart dash-cam uses AI to intelligently capture and automatically classify video of harsh driving events, providing real data insights that help commercial drivers stay safe on the road and also protect them against false claims in the event of any incident.
Proof is in the Footage
Contracting Business obtained an interview with Kevin Aries, Verizon Connect's Head of Global Product Success. He reinforced the fact that the bottom-line benefit of dashcam telematic evidence, is that it removes all doubt about whether or not a driver was operating a vehicle irresponsibly, and eliminates the possibility of false accusations.
"We're driving the value of telematic data by offering this solution," Aries said. "Rather than wasting our customers' time by having them sort through hours of video footage, we pair the telematic data with the moment a harsh driving event occurs, and generate a video clip specific to that event. The company is only receiving video clips that are relevant to that situation. Artificial Intelligence then performs a more concrete analysis of that video clip to better identify what is happening in the clip, to help classify it."
Aries said drivers are becoming more practical in their acceptance of fleet surveillance.
"The idea of using technology to better inform decisions and provide information related to location and what’s happening with the equipment has become less of a ‘big brother’ perception. Drivers don’t necessarily have negative feelings toward telematics solutions," Aries said. "Fleet management helps drivers get more done in a day, because the dispatchers can maximize their schedules and help them avoid heavy traffic. It also cuts down on the back-and-forth communication.”
"Drivers just want to do their jobs. All the other things that go along with a job — such as communicating with the office, letting them know your location, responding to different requests – are replaced by the visibility that a good fleet management solution gives you," Aries continued. "It reduces the entire work stream for drivers who are used to hand-holding dispatchers and managers by providing information. That information ultimately becomes part of the daily operation of a service company.”
The report can be downloaded for free by clicking the download button below.
Visit verizonconnect.com to learn more about integrated fleet management solutions.
