The benefits of proactive fleet safety with Geotab’s AI-powered dash cams

For all organisations, fleet safety is absolutely paramount and every operator wants to make sure their drivers make it home safely at the end of each shift, while protecting other road users. When improvements are made to fleet safety, operations costs also start to fall as insurance premiums and claims are reduced, along with costs associated with repair and general maintenance. Meanwhile, corporate reputation is protected thanks to a fleet of safer, calmer, more courteous drivers. 

Check out this article to learn how Geotab’s proactive approach to incident management through seamlessly integrated AI dash cameras and fleet telematics data can help make the roads safer on both sides of the wheel. 

The reactive approach to incident management

Traditionally, dash cam footage has been treated as reactive: an incident occurs, the footage is requested for review and then cross-referenced manually with any other information about the time and date of the incident from the telematics system. The problem is that this purely reactive approach doesn’t allow fleet managers to identify – and therefore prevent – any of the driving behaviours that could lead to an incident.

The Geotab way - a proactive approach

To overcome these challenges, Geotab has developed a 360 integration with the Lytx® Surfsight™ AI-12 camera – a configurable, easy-to-use dash cam that offers advanced technology and robust safety features, available directly from Geotab with one billing. Lytx are a leader in video safety and their devices capture 3 billion miles of driving data each month. They detect around 364,000 risky driving events each day, resulting in a database that has the depth and quality needed for unrivalled accuracy. 

By seamlessly combining telematics data and video footage, fleet operators gain a holistic view of vehicle operations in real-time from one cloud-based platform. Incident footage can be requested instantly and tied precisely with the vehicle data leading up to, during and after the incident.

Powered by machine vision and artificial intelligence (MV+AI), the dash cam also identifies risky driving behaviours – such as distracted driving, eating, smoking, or using a mobile phone – and provides First Notification of Risk (FNOR) to alert drivers so they can self-correct in the moment.

The benefits of proactive driver safety 

This proactive approach to fleet safety provides two key benefits for fleet operators:

1)  The ability to act preventatively, coach drivers and reduce risky behaviours BEFORE they result in accidents

2)  Removes doubt from incident analysis by providing context as to what led up to an incident, reducing claims and insurance premiums.

The devices can operate using ‘AI as a lens’. This configurability option means that in-cab recording can be switched off but the MV+AI can still alert the driver when a predetermined behaviour is recognised. This unique method can help to give drivers greater confidence that the dash cams are not used for policing, but only for empowering them and increasing safety.

By operating within the MyGeotab platform, operators can customise rules based on driver behaviour e.g. harsh acceleration or braking events, and then capture or request the footage related to those events to provide real-world footage for tailored driver training, strengthening their ability to make real improvements in road safety.

With incident footage tied precisely with the vehicle data leading up to, during and after the incident, fleet managers can now identify exactly what happened, providing the ’why’ in road traffic incidents. This empowers them to proactively tackle risk and correct any behaviours before they lead to a potential collision.

Crucially, the partnership between Geotab and Lytx empowers drivers and involves them in the conversation for the first time. This enables operators to create a more agile, responsive, collaborative and safer fleet, and generates a lasting culture of safety within the driving team.

A real-life case study of the solution in action

A family-owned trucking business with a fleet of over 100 trucks implemented the Geotab-Lytx dash cam solution and saw direct benefits in driver safety and engagement, together with decreased operational costs.

They were looking for a partner that could help in three key areas:

●   Empowering drivers to improve their safety and accountability

●   Reducing false claims that affected company reputation and claims costs

●   Mitigating rising insurance premiums

The live streaming video gave real-time insight into events in and around the vehicle and provided video proof of what happened during an incident. This gave the business the ability to proactively build a long-term safety record and reduce costly insurance claims.

The family operators understood that the relationship with their drivers was paramount, and so used the dash cam footage as a tool to strengthen camaraderie, showing examples of how it had been used to exonerate drivers at bi-weekly safety meetings. By doing this, 85% of the drivers had a positive impression of the solution after only two months. 

In the same period, the business saved over £16,000 in claim costs. In one incident, a box van from a freight hauling company swerved into one of their trucks, damaging their trailer. The dash cam captured the event and helped prove that the other driver was at fault.

Geotab – working to make the roads safer

Geotab aims to provide a world-leading ecosystem to improve safety on both sides of the wheel. We have developed our own tools within MyGeotab such as the Driver Safety Scorecard that promote good driving habits via gamification and allow for driver coaching to improve safety and efficiency.

With a genuine passion for safety and an open platform for third-parties, where there is already a market-leading safety solution provider, we encourage integration to improve safety for all road users.

We also engage with or directly run a number of global safety initiatives, such as with our “Phones Down, Eyes Up” charity concert, hosted annually by Geotab with the aim to generate awareness around the dangers of distracted driving and walking. 

Want to move from reactive to proactive fleet safety management and correct the behaviours that may lead to a safety incident?  

Check out our fleet dash cam solutions page to learn more.