2022

Awareness training can help protect fleets from staged accidents

There is certainly no shortage of safety concerns among fleet managers, as driver safety is among their top priorities. There’s always risk on the road and the responsibility to keep drivers protected comes with real pressure. What makes matters even more challenging is the threat of staged accidents and fraudulent claims.

In a blog post from Roadz Marketplace partner Infinit-I Workforce Solutions, they cover the unfortunate prevalence of staged accidents like t-bone and sideswipe scams, the actors involved and how fleets can protect themselves from becoming a victim.

Infinit-I suggests that these staged accidents may be the consequence of increased verdicts awarding $1 million or more in lawsuits. In a report called Understanding the Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on the Trucking Industry, from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), they cite that these larger payouts have increased 1,054% since 2011, a trend encouraging to fraudsters and daunting to fleets.

According to Infinit-I, “These scams often involve entire teams, including medical and legal personnel working with fake victims and fake witnesses to defraud trucking companies and insurance companies.” 

When you consider the level of coordination and involvement that can go into these scams, it can be difficult for fleets to feel like they stand a chance. However, Infinit-I provides steps that can be taken to help protect fleets from the dangers of staged accidents. These include the use of dash cams, on-scene picture taking and above all, training. Providing comprehensive training around staged incidents can help drivers remain aware of fraudsters on the road and prepare for the possibilities.

Staged accidents threaten the lives of commercial fleet drivers and other innocent victims. Roadz partners with top training solution providers like Infinit-I to help fleet managers mitigate risk and keep drivers safe on the road. 

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions provides fleets with a cloud-based learning management system, an intuitive platform that’s easy to use, track progress and compile reports. To read the full blog post from Infinit-I on the issue of staged accidents and how fleets can protect themselves, click below. 

A unified fleet management environment enables the advantages of EV adoption 

There isn’t a more popular topic in the automotive industry right now than electric vehicles (EVs). As the world focuses its attention on climate and sustainability issues, the markets are closely following suit. According to a forecast from Boston Consulting Group, it’s expected that battery-powered EVs will amount to 20% of global sales by 2025 and 59% in 2035.

For fleet managers, beyond the already intense demands they face on a daily basis, they’re now feeling the pressure to respond to climate issues and manage the strain of rising fuel costs. While EVs seem like an obvious solution, some fleet managers need more convincing. 

On the topic, Brightmile, a safety and sustainability telematics solution provider within the Roadz ecosystem, recently published a guest article from ESG leader Simon King. He discusses the competitive advantage for fleets to incorporate EVs and dispels misconceptions preventing actual adoption. 

King states that “a truly effective sustainability strategy can drive business performance if fully integrated into a business strategy.” While that’s a helpful insight, the problem of EV adoption, according to King, comes down to a lack of understanding among fleets. He illustrates with the common example of ‘range anxiety’, a nickname for the concerns some people have over how far EVs can actually travel before they need charging. What many may not realize is that today most EVs can operate for more than 250 miles at a time. And when you couple EVs with smart solutions like Brightmile that improve driver behavior, vehicles can go even farther. 

Beyond a lack of understanding, we also know there are other barriers fleet managers face. We understand the challenge of adding multiple services required to operate EVs such as charging solutions and battery telematics. We also recognize the challenge to integrate systems that support hybrid fleets utilizing both EVs and ICE vehicles.

The good news is that Roadz is addressing these challenges head on, expanding our ecosystem to play a central role in boosting EV adoption among fleets. The Roadz Marketplace offers fleets a simple way to successfully incorporate EVs by enabling an integrated and unified fleet management environment. 

Through a connected ecosystem of smart solutions like Brightmile, we can remove the barriers of adoption and broaden the opportunities for fleets to evolve and become more sustainable, competitive and profitable.

Brightmile is a driver safety and sustainability platform that reduces fleet collision rates and operational costs. To read the full article from Brightmile on sustainability and the role of EVs for fleets, click below.

In today’s commercial fleet world, fleet managers have access to more vehicle and operational data than ever before. While this data has certainly proven its innovative value in areas like diagnostics, driver management and route optimization, fleet managers have also reached a point where the volume of incoming information can feel like a burden to manage.

As many fleet vehicles on the road are now ‘connected,’ McKinsey & Company has reported that the average connected vehicle generates about 25 gigabytes of data every hour. That’s a lot of information to process and try to generate effective insights.

In a recent article written by Pitstop, a predictive maintenance solution provider among the Roadz ecosystem, the company’s CEO Shiva Bhardwaj shared his thoughts on this concept of ‘data overload’ and where it comes from. The good news is, we’re providing a resolution for the challenge.

As Bhardwaj states in his article, “A fleet must increase its focus on predictive maintenance and be able to create data visualizations that tell a clear story of effectiveness and efficiency.”

Rather than becoming overwhelmed by ‘data overload’, fleet managers can use accessible information to their advantage. When apps used by a fleet are connected in an ecosystem with a unified interface, fleet managers become empowered by their solutions. Suddenly data is integrated across different platforms and instead of manually parsing data app by app, fleet managers are able to see a more holistic and connected view of their fleets. This gives them the power to take incoming data and turn it into actionable insights.

A clear story for fleets can be made possible with ecosystems like the Roadz Marketplace. Together with powerful solutions like Pitstop, we can simplify the many responsibilities of fleet managers and help them improve safety, efficiency and profitability of their fleets.

Pitstop offers predictive fleet maintenance solutions that enable fleets to take advantage of insights on the health of fleet vehicles, predictions of equipment failure and overall cost savings. To read the full article from Pipstop on the challenge of data overload, click below.

In a report released late last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed a dramatic increase in vehicular fatalities, spotlighting the need for more proactive live-saving measures to be taken.  

Despite a decline in driving throughout the country, the number of fatalities reported in the first three months of 2021 was 10.5% higher than those projected during the same time in 2020. The NHTSA’s report identified motorist and truck driving behaviors contributing to these fatalities, which include:

• Distracted driving
• Failure to wear seat belts
• Speeding 

To achieve better protection for all drivers on the road, fleet managers have an opportunity to prevent risky driver behavior through the use of smart safety apps. Speed, seat belt use, and focus on the road can be effectively monitored and managed through telematics solutions from providers like SafeSpeed and LifeSaver.

Roadz provides fleets with easy access to these safety apps and plenty more through an ecosystem of carefully curated solutions that offer an integrated and unified experience to its fleet users. 

Implementation of these solutions plus comprehensive driver training can put fleets on a path toward more proactive risk management and better accident prevention for all drivers. Read the press release and report from the NHTSA to learn more. 

Want to learn more about how you can meet your customers’ demands in 2022 with no resources or additional development? Learn how to launch a ROADZ-powered marketplace. 

Various stakeholders like fleet and safety managers who are tasked with fleet management are in a very stressful position. They are constantly in a fire-fighting mode and need to make quick decisions to balance the goals of reducing operating costs, increasing productivity, and improving safety and compliance. 

It’s a lot to handle. Sure, there are thousands of solutions in the market to help bear the burden, but the reality is that in many cases they are not aware of the most innovative solutions. If they are using solutions, their experience is siloed and they have to hop from dashboard to dashboard to access data that isn’t integrated. So all said and done, they end up making sub-optimal business decisions. 

What fleets really want is:

• Integrated data across platforms for smarter decision making
• A single-pane-of-glass interface for a unified experience
• A one-stop shop for streamlined solution search and discovery 

The solution for addressing what fleet wants is simple: integrated ecosystems. Ecosystems both in the B2C (Apple, Android) and B2B (Salesforce AppExchange) exist today. However, they will spearhead the future of fleet management. While solution providers may wish to build their own ecosystems, such efforts will add a significant cost burden and can take years to develop, not to mention resources that would likely be redirected from growing core products. 

Roadz can help fleet management solution providers connect their fleet customers to an open and integrated ecosystem in a fraction of time and cost. The Roadz Marketplace provides a unique user-experience to fleet stakeholders who can browse and buy curated solutions via a unified interface, and make optimal business decisions based on integrated data. 

Learn how companies like GPSTrackit and Protective Insurance have launched their own Marketplaces powered by Roadz, helping their fleets save time, improve productivity and make better business decisions.

The litigation landscape has become a particularly hostile one for commercial fleets that have been involved in traffic accidents. Fleets are getting hit harder than ever with ‘nuclear verdicts’ as a result of factors including: 

• A rise in law firms specializing in fleet accidents
• An increase in drivers using mobile devices for operational support 
• Widespread awareness of device distraction dangers

An article from LifeSaver, one of the solution providers in the ROADZ ecosystem, also reveals a recent tactic among attorneys to ‘paint a picture of fleet corporate irresponsibility,’ laying sole accident blame on truck drivers and winning, even with very thin cases.

The impact of these verdicts can be devastating, leading to high penalty costs, increased insurance rates and even business closings. 

One of the best ways for fleets to protect themselves in this environment is to engage with smart safety applications that can be embedded into their drivers’ devices. For example, LifeSaver offers an app which blocks drivers from using their phones and tablets while they drive. 

Proactive risk management, along with comprehensive driver training, can help fleets avoid the detriment of ‘nuclear verdicts’. Read the article below to learn more.