Some driving behaviors are dangerous. But hard data from the NHTSA tells us how lethal they can be.
Do you know what is killing more Americans than all the aerial bombs, artillery shelling, machine-gun fire, torpedoes, and mines together did during both World Wars?
Distracted driving, speeding, or drunk driving.
624,000 people have died in vehicle crashes in the last couple of decades. That’s approximately 90,000 more than the 535,000 fatalities in the two World Wars!
Distracted driving has caused over 75,000 deaths
Not only have more Americans died on our roads than in two World Wars, according to government data, but vehicle crashes also caused injuries to over 30 million people.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informs us that 94% of car crashes involve human error. Unfortunately, people tend to believe that these errors are made by or will affect someone else, but never themselves.
A vehicle is four times more likely to crash if its driver is talking on a cellphone while driving, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has also found that those who text and drive are up to eight times more likely to crash. Distracted driving has caused over 75,000 deaths since 2000, as per the statistics of an American Public Health Association study. Distracted driving has reached crisis level, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has advised that distraction needs to be addressed through education, legislation, and enforcement.
Speeding kills over 10,000 a year
In the mid-1970s, the federal government mandated a 55 mph speed limit, but over the intervening decades, six states have come to allow 80 mph, while over forty states allow 70 mph. Annually, over 10,000 fatalities are caused by speeding-related crashes. Experts believe that, of these, nearly 2000 people who lost their lives would have survived, had the speed limit stayed at 55 mph.
In order to reduce speeding, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends accurate measuring of speed and high-visibility enforcement programs. Speeding is bad driving behavior that can be changed with real-time reporting and driver coaching. Azuga Speedsafe (speed report for fleets) helps fleet supervisors understand when and where speeding has occurred relative to the posted speed limit. This aids in reducing speeding events to almost zero.
Four-step solution for fleet safety
One of Azuga's customers has achieved a low average in the speeding duration of 14 seconds per 100 miles, which is much lower than the industry average of 371 seconds per 100 miles. Azuga recommends the following four-step implementation of anti-speeding measures.
Step 1: Conduct a performance assessment. With telematics solutions in place, you can begin to identify the drivers, the common behaviors, the locations and the impact that unsafe driving is having on your fleet safety.
Step 2: Prevent and coach. Once you know where risks lie, you can now begin to prevent and coach drivers to improve safety. On-demand, personalized coaching solutions built into telematics solutions allow fleet managers to customize training based on individual driving behaviors and deliver the necessary training directly to a smartphone or computer to eliminate the likelihood of unsafe behaviors.
Step 3: New insights and reporting go beyond standard reports. Azuga can provide your fleet with unique reports that identify complicated trends and patterns. Compare your data by SIC code, geography, or fleet size and obtain deep insights into safety and efficiency.
Step 4: Continuous safety. Telematics providers today can assist in helping fleets formulate and implement a safety plan that continuously monitors driving behaviors and helps fleets avoid accidents.
Our investments in safety are an indicator of how much we value human life. At Azuga, we include an ROI-centricity that looks at maximizing business gain while improving the fleet safety score.
