Rich data, live tracking, online reporting, and video recordings help make roads safer for everyone. Importantly, these technologies help smooth the often adversarial relationship between fleet managers and their insurance companies and foster a productive win-win situation that benefits them both.
Current Improvements
In the UK, the numbers speak for themselves, with dash cams already achieving 20% penetration in the consumer vehicle sector. This number continues to increase as people become more familiar with these devices and start to expect them in their vehicles.
The positive news is that accident statistics reflect a continued decrease in traffic accidents that coincides with increased dash cam adoption, indicating the effectiveness of continuous monitoring in curbing dangerous driving behavior.
Adoption in the US has been more modest than the UK, primarily being used by fleet operators who already see the value in this technology. Adopting these technologies and other new developments in telemetrics and AI can make the situation even better.
The True Cost of a Crash
When running a fleet, keeping people safe is of the highest priority and part of the duty of care for operators. This need for personal safety goes hand-in-hand with maintaining vehicles in tip-top shape and ensuring they are driven correctly.
When an accident inevitably occurs, vehicle damage is only the most obvious result of a crash, but there are several other knock-on effects. Liability must be determined, deciding who was at fault, and who must take responsibility for the accident. Video evidence provides a reliable and unbiased witness of how events transpired. If injuries occur, there will be medical expenses to pay, and in the event of a death, there would have to be a long investigation. Vehicle repairs will need to be made, which could range from a minor repair to full vehicle replacement, depending on the severity of the crash. Time off the road costs add up quickly as the vehicle cannot get any work done while in the shop.
The total cost of even a single claim can be high. According to the RMIAA (Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association) the average cost of an insurance claim ranges from US$1,500 to US$15,000, ignoring other hidden costs. That is a hefty cost, and the insurance companies, according to the article, only foot about 50% of the total expenses incurred by all accidents.
In short, the ideal situation is to have zero accidents. But in real life, that is never the case, so you must reduce the risks with better drivers, combined with accountability, and protection against outside forces.
Fleet and Insurer Cooperation
Insurance companies want to pay out less and fleet managers want to pay lower premiums, but everyone wants fewer accidents. Fortunately, with the advent of cloud-enabled AI dash cams, it is now possible to achieve all these goals through some innovative approaches not possible with older dash cams.
AI dash cams like the VIA Mobile360 D700 and the data they collect can use algorithms to determine which drivers are more reckless. Fleet managers can then take decisive action for underperforming drivers by requiring skills improvement or driver training. They can then let the insurance company know, giving them peace of mind that positive steps are being taken to improve overall fleet safety.
Insurers don’t need to “just trust” the fleet manager’s word because data accessibility makes all these improvements measurable and completely transparent. The fleet manager can present the insurer with concrete statistics that demonstrate overall trends. Fewer driver distraction warnings, fewer speed warnings, consistent following distances, fewer hard turns, and less hard braking indicate improvements in driver safety. These reductions can be substantiated to insurers with collected data.
If, despite all efforts, there is still an accident, claims are easier than ever for both fleet managers and the insurance company. There is video footage of both the inside and outside of the vehicle to determine liability accurately. Instead of watching hours of video to find a crash recording, that crash footage is easily located because of automatic crash warnings and markers. That video evidence is quickly shared with the insurer because it is automatically marked and available through the cloud.
Safer for Everyone
Insurers can make more predictable determinations of fault for any accidents that occur, they can more reliably determine their risk, and simplify the claims process. Fleet managers improve their overall safety numbers, reduce crashes, and can work with their insurance company to reduce insurance premiums. Everyone can move forward with a smile.
Learn more about the VIA Mobile360 D700 AI Dash Cam. You can also catch our recent announcement highlighting new updated AI features.