Managing and Reducing Accidents in 2019
Several factors impact truck accident management efforts, including longer routes, newer drivers, and in-vehicle distractions such as phones and tablets. But experts agree, a solid fleety safety policy and program is the No. 1 way to reduce incidents.
“For the clients we serve, we saw an increase in accidents for many truck fleets. Some fleets had very moderate increases, while a few had significant increases,” noted Bob Martines, CEO of Corporate Claims Management (CCM). “We believe the minor increases for these clients, 5% or less, were related mostly to internal changes.”
According to Martines, “clients with increases of greater than 25% in total reported claims had many determining factors, including their business segment such as package delivery or transportation where excess mileage and time of vehicle use become key factors.”
Extended routes, where drivers need to cover more territory in the same daily time frame, is a contributing factor.
“Driver quotas add undue pressures, which can create an unstable environment for the driver and make them rush from one appointment to another. Upper management being less tolerant of working or road conditions also does not help,” Martines added. “Also, excessive employee turnover has caused havoc for some clients, which equates to newer, unskilled drivers added to the mix.”
Specifically, medium-duty truck accident frequency rose slightly, with Enterprise Fleet Management noting that severity increased more significantly.
“The biggest factor was the strong economy and consistency in gas prices, which created more jobs and longer trips, and required more vehicles to be on the road. With more time spent behind the wheel, the possibility of drivers feeling fatigued or distracted is higher,” said Connie Brinkmann, assistant vice president of risk management for Enterprise Fleet Management. “Additionally, the need for more drivers increased, which resulted in a driver shortage and more drivers with less experience being behind the wheel.”
As a growing number of fleet operators embrace telematics technology, driver performance is improving as a result.
“Many vocational fleets were among the early adopters of telematics technology; therefore, their programs are more mature, influencing their approach to safety and driver behavior management. These organizations typically place a greater emphasis on driver safety, and as a result, they experience fewer incidents of high-risk behavior such as speeding, fast acceleration, harsh braking, etc.,” said Ken Costello, manager, Fleet Management Analytics for ARI.
CEI also sees the impact of safety technologies on accident rates.
“In our experience, truck fleets are early adopters of safety technologies and driver safety initiatives. The consistency in collision numbers for trucks reflects CEI customers’ continuing focus on promoting driver safety and policy adherence among their drivers,” said Ken Latzko, VP of sales and marketing for The CEI Group.
One trend that unfortunately gained momentum in 2019 was the number of claims related to vehicle and component theft, Costello noted.
“When reviewing this year’s data, there was a noticeable uptick in vehicle thefts and incidents of stolen components such as catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters (DPFs). The best advice I can offer fleet operators is to educate their drivers on this emerging trend, stressing the importance of remaining vigilant of their surroundings,” Costello said.
But, one silver lining: Fleet Response noted that accidents that occur on the roadway are decreasing.
“Drivers are more attentive. They are slowing down and pulling off to the side of the roadway when looking at their GPS or finding their next job location,” said Mike Irey, senior claims adjustor for Fleet Response.
Preventable Accidents Flat
Preventable accidents are the bane of most fleet manager safety efforts. These are accidents that could have been prevented in some way, but often some distraction comes into play.
But there is good news here: For 2019, the accident management experts noted that, while a decrease would be preferred, there was no noticeable change in the number of preventable accidents.
“The percentages continue to stay the same year-over-year related to preventability. In 2018, the preventable percentage was at 43%, and in 2019 it went down to 41%,” noted Scott Brinker, senior manager, accident prevention and repair for Wheels.
One reason a decrease may be a challenge right now? An uptick in the number of newer, inexperienced drivers. The pool of qualified drivers has significantly diminished over the past several years, leaving more unskilled workers to fill slots.
“The number of preventable accidents in the more mature fleets was relatively flat. However, the inexperienced fleet drivers are involved in many more incidents, sometimes as much as three times the rate of mature fleet drivers,” noted Martines of CCM.
Source: https://www.truckinginfo.com
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