For fleet managers, improving driver safety involves providing training on the best behind-the-wheel behaviors as well as empowering drivers to practice those behaviors. A key component of that practice is the ride along that gives fleet managers or supervisors an in-person chance to assess and correct any issues, leading to safer and more efficient fleets.

Roads have become considerably more dangerous in recent years, and part of the problem is an increase in aggressive driving and incidents involving road rage. Reversing this troubling trend will require each driver to change their behind-the-wheel behavior.

Even as the availability of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)  increases, older drivers still use the systems at about the same rate as they did years ago, a new study has found. They also perceived the safety of ADAS as about the same.

Pedestrian traffic fatalities increased in 2021, continuing a trend over the past few years that has seen the rate of pedestrian deaths involving a vehicle reach historic highs. During that time, the number of pedestrian traffic fatalities also has increased far faster than other types of traffic-related deaths.

Drowsy driving ranks among the worst offenders when it comes to poor driving habits that lead to crashes. The ability to recognize the signs of driver fatigue is key to creating a fleet safety culture that eliminates those habits and the risk of crash-related injuries.

College-owned vehicle driver safety is an issue universities and colleges across the country should take seriously. With a fleet of vehicles used by employees and students in an environment with many inexperienced drivers and distracted pedestrians, academic institutions that offer driver training can create a safer campus and reduce their liability risk for off campus driving.

The United States has a complex transportation system used by millions of commercial and private drivers every day. Addressing and mitigating the risks that fleet drivers face involves a strategy known as the safe system approach. It’s a holistic strategy that includes areas such as infrastructure, human behavior and emergency response.

Fleet managers face a challenge in trying to mitigate risk by providing high-quality, effective driver training. In addition to finding a service that provides updated and relevant training content, they also must find a way to schedule all their drivers while minimizing time off the road.

Reading, Seeing, Doing

As vehicles become more sophisticated with advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), drivers are falling further behind in understanding how these systems perform, or even worse, have ill-conceived notions of how these systems function. In hindsight it seems, the better the technology becomes; the worse drivers get. However, we can’t be that surprised knowing how little training most individuals have received on this topic. Safety researchers continue to issue warnings about the lack of training and because of this, repeatedly emphasize how ADAS will never live up to its full potential.

The Driving Dynamics “SEE the Advantage System™” takes information gathered from years of research about the causes of crashes and helps drivers develop habits to avoid them. This system includes both an effective, advanced defensive driving strategy and critical vehicle control skills for drivers of all vehicle types.

In this blog, we’ll focus on the advanced defensive driving strategy component called SEE. This is an easy to remember acronym encouraging drivers to regularly use the SEE three-step process to anticipate potential traffic hazards and respond in a safe manner. They are:

The foundational principles that Driving Dynamics build much of its training upon is contained in One Second Advantage. The core idea is that drivers can avoid most crashes and collisions if they have just one more second to see and react to potential hazards.

As fleets invest in making a transition to electric vehicles (EVs), they should include EV driver training as
part of the transition. A failure to do so could have a negative impact on safety and energy consumption,
while investing in training could help fleets and drivers better manage risk.