In its infancy, driver safety data and accident analytics were reactive, focusing on motor vehicle reports (MVRs) and analyzing broad-based data per million miles.
As recently as two decades ago, the standard practice was to review a driver’s MVR at hire and, possibly, annually after that. It was rare for any additional analysis, beyond ensuring the driver had a valid license. Typical safety metrics like accident ratios, accident reasons, and the frequency and severity of accidents were tracked manually, via spreadsheet. This view of the data was historical and potentially incomplete, leaving organizations open to liability risks.
In the last ten years, fleet safety programs have become an industry standard. Aimed at reducing accident frequency and severity, safety program tactics like established safety rules, comprehensive driver training, regular inspections, and maintenance have become essentials in operating a safe fleet. Simply investing in road safety can reduce crash rates by 50%.
While fleet safety programs are now standard practice, they remain reactive to static driver safety data. With rising costs of accidents to employers and recent trend towards nuclear verdicts in negligent entrustment liability cases, like the record $280 million award against a fleet in a 2019 case, the need for real-time data has become apparent.
REAL-TIME DRIVER SAFETY DATA
Continuous MVR monitoring is real-time and web-based making monitoring drivers’ risk profiles related to their licenses almost effortless by comparison to the annual MVR check. Continuous MVR monitoring allows the fleet manager to receive notifications of violations and license suspensions in real-time — eliminating the liability risk exposure created by annual MVR checks. One example of real-time data in use could be a new violation or license suspension occurring for a driver. In this instance, an MVR is automatically delivered to the driver manager. With access and alerts to this information in a more immediate manner, the manager can take immediate corrective action with the driver, closing the accident and liability risk exposure gap.
Continuous MVR monitoring is an ideal solution for effectively monitoring drivers’ risk profiles, ensuring compliance and safety, reducing liability, and minimizing business losses. When continuous MVR monitoring is coupled with other driver behavior data like Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) scores, and telematics a real-time holistic picture of the driver begins to emerge.
Learn more about creating and using actionable data in “Using Data to Improve Driver Safety”