Industries that deliver products and services over the road or at remote customer sites play a critical role in today's economy. But for those companies, managing the fleet vehicles that are a major lifeblood to revenue comes with inherent risks. In this post, we'll take a look at two of those risks: The financial impact of rising insurance premiums; and, the increasing number of distracted drivers. As these issues continue to escalate, more and more companies are adopting innovative solutions to protect their assets, revenue, reputation, and, most importantly, the lives of their drivers and other road users.
The Impact of Rising Vehicle Insurance Premiums
For businesses operating fleets (whether it's 5 or 5,000) fleet insurance costs have always been a significant concern. In fact, it's estimated that fleet insurance expenses account for around 12% of the total cost of operations. Over the years, several factors have contributed to the upward spiral of fleet vehicle insurance costs, including inflation, increasing claim frequency and severity, and evolving regulatory requirements.
As vehicle insurance premiums continue to surge, many companies are faced with financial strain. Smaller fleet operators (20-100 vehicles) can be hit particularly hard as these rising vehicle insurance costs often erode vital profit margins and hinder growth opportunities. Identifying and mitigating risks proactively, such as through the use of emerging technology like affordable AI-powered dash cameras, is now becoming more commonplace.
The Epidemic of Distracted Driving
A second, and equally significant, threat to vehicle safety is the widespread issue of distracted driving. Talking, texting, eating, and smoking are just a few of the multitasking activities drivers are engaged in when behind the wheel. And when they engage in these additional 'visual-manual' tasks it can lead to disastrous consequences. According to research conducted by VTTI, such distractions can increase the risk of a crash by a staggering 300%.
The effects of distracted driving are not limited to accidents and insurance claims; they can also lead to additional legal liabilities, reputational (brand) damage, and increased insurance premiums due to a higher likelihood of claims.
Similar to mitigating rising insurance costs, more companies are turning to AI-powered dash cameras as a way to proactively address the controllable risks associated with distracted driving (those which happen in your vehicles). The new linxCam AI-powered dash camera from Linxup is designed to do just that.
The Power of AI and Advanced Features
The integration of AI technology into dash cameras allows for intelligent analysis of driver behavior patterns, identifying potential areas of improvement and risk mitigation. With this valuable data, fleet managers can make data-informed decisions to enhance driver safety both in real time and through positive coaching from recorded video.
Linxup's linxCam with AI utilizes dual cameras to monitor the road ahead and driver behavior in the cab. This dual visibility enables additional analysis based on simultaneous insights into the vehicle's movements and the driver's activities. Actions such as tailgating also record driver behavior to quickly identify potential causes that can be used for exoneration in the event of an incident if the driver acted safely, or to identify unnecessary risk such as incidents of distracted driving.
One Solution Helps Reduce Multiple Risks
The application of AI-powered dash cameras as a risk reduction tool doesn't stop with insurance premiums and distracted driving. It can, as in the case of linxCam, extend to identifying and sending real time alerts to drivers and managers for unsafe driving behaviors...such as tailgating, detecting if a seatbelt is being worn, and detecting if employees are tampering with the camera system to avoid detection.
The good news is that this new technology has the ability to make a significant impact on risk reduction across multiple industries (construction, landscaping, field services, restoration, transportation and logistics, and more) and for companies of all shapes and sizes (2 to 10,000 employees). Choosing a solution like Linxup's new linxCam with AI, which has the ability to grow and scale as technology evolves, adds an indispensable, long lasting layer of protection to mitigate the growing risks of operating a company where fleet vehicles are a major lifeblood to revenue.
Interested in learning more about how linxCam can help mitigate these two risks and more? Please contact us at 1-877-907-0801.
