The first driver’s education course was held in 1934 at a high school in State College, Pennsylvania and conducted by Amos Neyhart, a professor at Penn State University. Vehicles, roads, traffic conditions and behavioral issues have evolved greatly since then, so just how well have we kept up with preparing people to drive safely—especially those who are required to spend hours each week behind the wheel as part of their job responsibilities?

Big data is really here. The amount of details we can amass related to drivers’ activities behind-the-wheel is impressive and loaded with powerful, useful intelligence. However, organizations that have access to this may still face challenges achieving maximum results because a data-driven focus can have an unintentional consequence—To see the driver as a problem to be controlled rather than a resource to be leveraged.

Anytime your drivers hit the road, they are surrounded by any number of people with diminished operational control. Distractions, speeding, fatigue, aggression, DUI—it’s a minefield out there. Faced with the 'other driver' and their poor decisions and actions it’s certainly no easy job to manage your fleet’s risk exposure but together we prepare your drivers to steer clear of the oncoming danger.

Driving in parking lots may seem non-threatening with low-speed limits and neatly organized rows and spaces, but according to the National Safety Council, tens of thousands of crashes occur in lots and garage structures annually. And, further analysis of data indicates that 9 percent of pedestrian deaths in parking lots result from backing incidents. (National Safety Council, 2016)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) revealed that there was an increase of fatalities in truck-involved crashes from 2017 to 2018. (Overdrive, 2018). And, another report found that more than half of passenger vehicle drivers involved in these fatal truck crashes were cited for driver-related factors—fatigue, speeding and inattention. (Consumer Notice, 2018).

Believe it or not, most motorists on the road today are Unconscious Incompetents. What does that mean? In the case of driving it refers to individuals who unintentionally put themselves at risk because they are unaware of the consequences of their actions while driving. Common examples include speeding through a yellow light, rolling through stop signs, or weaving in and out of traffic. If an individual never faces any repercussions as a result of these actions, their habits will eventually be hard-wired into their everyday driving style.

Every day, we are sharing the road with more drivers operating their vehicles with diminished capacity. And as more states legalize the use of marijuana, the message of vigilance and preparedness is worth repeating.

Researchers at leading traffic safety institutes around the world acknowledge that training plays an important role in developing values, beliefs, sound habits, and skills. But, that’s only if the proper instructional design methods for adult learners are incorporated into driver training programs

Despite 77 percent of fleets using telematics, most are not taking full advantage of the benefits offered by these systems. Since the technology is in the vehicle, it provides fleet managers real-time information which can be used to improve more than just vehicle efficiencies and lower fuel costs. A somewhat known, but not yet fully understood area for this technology, is that it can be used to support companies’ safety initiatives. The telematics devices actually allow fleet managers to analyze drivers’ performances more accurately than ever before.

As reported by the National Safety Council, the U.S. has experienced three straight years of at least 40,000 roadway deaths. In 2018, there was a decline of roughly one percent from road deaths in 2017, but a 14 percent increase from four years ago. One of the contributing factors is the continuing increase in the number of drivers on the road and miles driven, which correspondingly increases the crash risks for your driver population.

We all daydream occasionally; maybe a bit more than we realize. It’s fun, sometimes relaxing, and perhaps good for our mental health. But the truth be told; it can also have dangerous consequences if it happens while operating a vehicle.

We all know change is hard, especially when it is a behavior that has evolved into an everyday habit. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of most automotive fleet and commercial drivers is 55 years old, meaning they have spent more than 30 years behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. With that amount of time on the road, it’s possible that these veteran drivers have developed poor, self-taught driving habits of which they are unaware. They may deem their habitual driving actions, like braking late for an approaching red light, speeding or rolling through a stop sign, as safe, because they have never endured any penalty or consequence from their actions.

Fleet operators are perplexed. In the past few years sizable investments have been made in equipping vehicles with the newest safety technologies, implementing telematics, perhaps trying predictive analytics, increasing the frequency.

If advanced-driver-assist system (ADAS) technologies are installed on all vehicles, it could potentially prevent more than 2.7 million crashes, 1.1 million injuries and nearly 9,500 deaths each year according to a report by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. However, it also warns that many drivers are unaware of the current safety limitations. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety notes that lack of understanding or confusion about the proper function of these technologies can lead to misuse or over-reliance, which could result in deadly crashes.

Producing a business plan and budget requires time, effort, forward-thinking, compromises, and multiple revisions in accomplishing a yearly forecast. Each year, companies identify key projects which they hope will bring value to their organizations and customers. One of the responsibilities of leaders is to challenge management on what the Return on Investment (ROI) will be for these new projects. From here we prioritize and decide which ones to pursue and implement in the coming year. The ROI consideration underpins so many of the final decisions on how to proceed. In many, if not most, corporate cultures this will shape the business strategy along with decisions made during the upcoming year. It will also have a significant influence on how managers and employees conduct themselves.

The rear-end collision is the most common type of automobile crash.  Almost 40% of the six million accidents that happen each year are rear-end collisions. Furthermore, almost 87% of the crashes were caused from drivers not paying adequate attention to the road.

Each year Driving Dynamics trains thousands of drivers across the country. During these classes instructors ask trainees to ‘raise their hand if they feel they are above average drivers. Invariably, most students do raise their hands and make comments such as: “You bet I am, I haven’t had an accident or a fender bender in over 20 years.” Hey. I know everything there is about driving correctly. As a matter of fact, I just taught my kid how to drive.”

Picture this scenario: You, an experienced driver, are traveling through the city at the posted speed-limit. You find yourself negotiating busy intersections, changing traffic patterns―then all of a sudden your phone rings. What is your next move?

By now most of us have seen media reports regarding the troubling crash statistics related to different types of distracted driving, especially one's influenced by cell phone use. What is it about this activity that causes a driver’s performance capabilities to diminish? While there are many causes of distracted driving, here we are focusing on understanding the physiology of how phone calls and texting dramatically reduces the amount of information a driver can process in order to safely operate a vehicle.

During the past decade, a collective approach for reducing crashes has been essentially to scold or persistently urge drivers, to the point of annoyance, about why they should not drive while distracted.  In other words: nag, nag, and nag. Now, nagging to effect change has been a go-to method used throughout history by parents, spouses, the press and government regulators. And as crashes caused by distracted driving have reached epidemic levels, fleet management has also now become a prolific practitioner of nag-o-nomics, if you will, as a tool to deter distracting behaviors by their drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle crash fatalities are down by one percent after two consecutive years of large increases—which is great, but not enough. There were still around 40,000 fatalities in 2018.While the recent report for 2018 hasn’t published, it shared that the downward trend has continued into the first half of the year. NHTSA shared the projection of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2018 represented a decrease of around 3.1 percent compared to the first half of 2017.

There is probably not a day that goes by when you see someone taking unnecessary driving risks. If you are like most individuals, this can make you quite uncomfortable—maybe even angry at times. Without a doubt, aggressive driving is a serious and growing problem. It is rude, often illegal, and always dangerous. Speeding, tailgating, frequent and sudden lane changes, failure to yield right-of-way and disregarding traffic signals—these aggressive behaviors are contributing factors in more than 50 percent of all collisions. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the report, “What Do Traffic Crashes Cost? Total Cost to Employers by State and Industry,” in 2003, which identified, among other vital statistics, the average cost employers incurred with each vehicle crash. Funded by NHTSA, the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) released “Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers—2015™”an update to the 2003 report which should receive careful review by anyone involved in Fleet operations.

I had reached a certain age; grown the requisite over-sized waistline (I’m being kind to myself) and now sported a graying beard. Like tens of thousands before me sharing these similar traits, I purchased my first motorcycle. Go figure! And I have to say I’m enjoying the heck out of my weekend rides.