Optimizing Fleet Safety: Leveraging Technology and Leadership to Reduce Distracted Driving

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There are a lot of studies out there, and there are examples where if you're
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traveling at 55 miles an hour and you take your eyes off the road for five seconds,
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you travel more than the lane of a football field.
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And on average, it takes five seconds to check a text or respond to a text.
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So you may think it's something that you can quickly do, but before you know
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it, you travel the length of a football field or greater.
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And the misconception everyone has, you see this, I see this,
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is we all think we can multitask.
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There's no such thing as multitasking. You are task switching.
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You're going back and forth between tasks, which results in nothing getting 100% of your attention.
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And if anything, you've got a slower response time, but that multitasking has been ingrained into us.
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You think about some of your first interviews when you were applying for jobs.
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You probably talked about how you were really skilled at multitasking.
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You thought that was a skill that an employer wanted to know about.
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Well, it's not something that exists. You're switching tasks and nothing is
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getting your full attention, which is scary.
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Welcome to the Safety Leadership Collective Podcast. We hope you enjoy today's featured message.
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Welcome to the Safety Leadership Collective Podcast channel.
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My name is Nick Coya, and I'm here with the Portage County Safety Council,
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and I am really excited about today's interview.
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You know, as we go to work, come home from work, or even during our jobs,
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we spend a lot of times here in America on the roadway.
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And we thought, what a better time than now to start talking about driver safety in the workplace.
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And when I started thinking about this, I thought about my buddy,
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Tim. I have worked with him on some projects, and he just has such a great knowledge
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related to driver safety.
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He's an executive in lost control for an insurance company and just has a lot
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of knowledge and skills in this.
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So we thought we'd bring him on the channel. Tim, welcome to the channel today.
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Thank you, Nick. Happy to be here. Looking forward to the conversation pertaining
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to driver safety and how we can help people return home with their loved ones.
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Now, I'm so excited about this. You know, I know you have a true passion for
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this. This has been your career for a while, but why don't you let our listeners
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know a little bit about yourself before we jump into this conversation.
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Absolutely. Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, and this journey started 15 years
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ago. When I was an undergrad in college, I started pursuing,
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you know, what would truly interest me and bring fulfillment in life.
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So I went to the police academy at the same time as getting my undergrad.
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And when I graduated, I started working for local municipalities as a patrol
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officer. Shortly after that, I started exploring insurance opportunities to
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determine where can I make an influence?
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How do I touch greater masses from a fleet safety perspective?
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Found an insurance company, really enjoyed it.
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And then I transitioned into the loss control realm where I had the ability
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to travel the United States, consulting with clients to help them understand
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the types of controls they could put in place to reduce the likelihood of crash risk, injury risk.
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Throughout my career over the past 14 years, I've taken on different leadership
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responsibilities, and I've also got involved in the claims realm too.
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So it's been a great journey over the past 14 years and looking forward to the
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next 14 because things are evolving rapidly and we want to continue to stay
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on top of those trends and help people get home to their loved ones and reduce
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the likelihood of a loss.
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You bring such a unique perspective because you've seen it from that law enforcement
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side, but you've also seen it from the insurance side. And
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And the consulting being in the field with the customers. So you kind of bring
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this three-headed approach to loss prevention and keeping drivers safe out there
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and helping companies succeed.
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You know, one of the biggest issues I see out there as I travel from client
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to client and across the States is distracted driving.
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There's just so many distractions compared to what we had 20 years ago.
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I remember when I first got my driver's license, you know, white knuckled holding
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the steering wheel, you know, praying that we don't get in an accident learning to drive.
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And now we see people driving around and they got the radio on,
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they're flipping on their phone, they're taking phone calls,
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they're sending text messages, and just all this information is coming into
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them. But what's on the roadway?
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How are companies adjusted to this?
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How do they keep their drivers engaged on the roadway and not all this distraction around them right now?
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Yeah, that's absolutely a great question. the question I often get from our
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clients and also family and friends.
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Before I jump into what companies are doing, maybe I can just provide a little
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bit of a background at distracted driving.
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When people think distracted driving, typically the first thing they default to mobile phones.
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Absolutely, mobile phones are a piece of distracted driving,
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but there are so many other aspects that feed into it.
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So distracted driving, you have really three things. Visual distractions,
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it could be a billboard, taking your eyes off the road. It could be cognitive.
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If you're daydreaming, you know, you get complacent. You may have the same 45
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mile commute every single day.
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So cognitively, you're not there. You're thinking about challenges at home.
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Well, cognitive distractions play a big part in motor vehicle accidents.
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You also have manual. Are you grabbing something off the seat?
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Are you looking down and grabbing a soda or picking your phone up because you hear an alert go off?
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So distracted driving is so much more than mobile phone use,
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but people typically think mobile phone use because it's one of the most prevalent
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things out there, but it's the cognitive distractions, visual distractions,
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and manual distractions.
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And it's a growing issue.
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You see more distracted drivers now than you've ever seen, Nick.
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You pull up to an intersection, the first thing someone typically does is they pick up their phone.
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They're addicted to it. It's like a hit of dopamine. It's scary.
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And have you seen some of the stats out there pertaining to distracted driving?
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You know, I didn't dig into the stats, but I can tell you they got to be high
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because of what I've seen on the highway of people texting and it's just,
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they're so distracted. It's scary.
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What are you seeing stat-wise? NHTSA reported in 2023 that there were more than
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3,000 motor vehicle deaths related to distracted driving.
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And that's excluding the hundreds of thousands of injuries that are due to distracted driving.
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And that number is so low because it's underreported. A lot of these governmental
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agencies are getting this information from police reports, observations, surveys.
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So you think about all of those missed opportunities to really determine when someone is distracted.
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There's not a day you get in your vehicle that you're not distracted,
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whether thinking about home life, getting the kids to the soccer game,
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picking up the phone, just a variety of reasons.
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So as I said, it's growing, it's getting worse, and we need to put controls in place to combat it.
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And that was one of your original questions. As you were talking about what
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distracted driving was before we get into how we combat this,
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I had this thought, you know, think about the people who drive their own car every day.
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I know exactly where the volume is from my radio.
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I know how to answer my phone on my steering wheel. But when I get into a rental
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car, it's a mess the first five minutes you're in there, right?
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Like, where does this at? How do I turn the headlights on? How do I do this?
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And then you get into a company car that's different than your own car and the company car is down.
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So now you got to drive somebody else's truck or vehicle that day and everything else is somewhere else.
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Those are minor things that we often take for granted and don't think about
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building that into our program.
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How do we handle that? It's training, ensuring that individuals are prepared
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for whatever type of vehicle they are operating.
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Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a study several years back where
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they talked about taking your eyes off the road for two seconds doubles the
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likelihood of being involved in an accident.
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So to your point, if you're not familiar with a vehicle and you're trying to
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turn the heat on or defrost something, well, you may take your eyes off the
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road for more than two seconds.
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So you're doubling your chances of being involved in an accident.
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So it's really important, whether it's a rental vehicle or you're switching
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fleet vehicles within an operation, that you familiarize yourself with the controls
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before you start operating it.
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Because the last thing you want to do is get on the roadway,
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realize you don't know how to turn the defrost on, you're distracted,
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and then you end up rear-ending someone. A lot of it is preventable.
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You know, I was at a convention where they were talking about distracted driving
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and just driver safety, and the presenter there said, I want you to do me a favor.
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The next time you're in the passenger seat of a vehicle, look at a sign as you
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pass it and look down at your phone for two seconds. Count one, 1,000, two, 1,000.
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Look back up and look in that mirror and see how far you traveled on the highway
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because you'd be amazed at how long that distraction happens.
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And that two seconds wasn't even long enough for you to answer the phone or
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to look at a text message. How much further did you go and how many potential
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situations did you put yourself into?
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And it's an amazing exercise to do. I've done it. I have my kids do it. I had my wife do it.
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Like take a look at this and see how fast this happened. There are a lot of
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studies out there and there are examples where if you're traveling at 55 miles
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an hour and you take your eyes off the road for five seconds,
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you travel more than the length of a football field.
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And on average, it takes five seconds to check a text or respond to a text.
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So you may think it's something that you can quickly do, but before you know
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it, you travel the length of a football field or greater.
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And the misconception everyone has, you see this, I see this,
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is we all think we can multitask.
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There's no such thing as multitasking. You are task switching.
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You're going back and forth between tasks, which results in nothing getting 100% of your attention.
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And if anything, you've got a slower response time, but that multitasking has been ingrained into us.
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You think about some of your first interviews when you were applying for jobs.
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You probably talked about how you were really skilled at multitasking.
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You thought that was a skill that an employer wanted to know about.
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Well, it's not something that exists. You're switching tasks and nothing is
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getting your full attention, which is scary.
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Especially when you're operating a motor vehicle. And it doesn't have to be
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semi-drivers. These are people that could just be driving passenger vehicles,
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running to get the mail for work.
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So how do we start to deal with this? Training is part of it,
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right? Having that conversation with our employees.
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What do you find has been successful to help get your customers or people you've
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worked with to be more engaged or get their employees more engaged in that driving process?
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It begins with having a strong leadership team that is committed and wants to
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develop a culture of success. They want to do the right thing because they want
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people to return home to their loved ones.
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They understand the risk associated with distracted driving.
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Just with operating a vehicle, whether it's your personal vehicle or a company
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vehicle, and they want to set folks up for success.
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Well, if you've got a strong leadership team in place that cares,
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they want to do the right thing because they've got loved ones and they wouldn't
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want their loved ones operating on the roadways in these unsafe conditions.
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Then it really transfers to, are we hiring the right people?
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Are we hiring people with good driving records that have experience?
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Do we have policies in place that set forth with expectations.
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It helps people understand what is expected of them. If they fail to abide,
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what are the repercussions?
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Are we training people to increase awareness? Because a lot of times,
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people aren't even aware of the distractions within the vehicle or that surround
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them or all of these hazards.
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So how do you increase awareness? So people, one, know what's going on,
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but secondly, know how to respond to those distracted driving events that pop
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up or all of those hazards that are surrounding their vehicle.
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And if you're hiring the right people, you've got policies, you're training
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them, you've got a leadership team that cares.
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The most important thing is how do you monitor distracted driving?
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Because when people are away from the brick and mortar, from a leadership standpoint,
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you don't know if people are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. So monitoring is key.
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And we'll probably talk about telematics and video-based cameras in today's conversation.
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I think it's so important what you just talked about what's leadership,
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but it's not only leaders that want to do well, but that are willing to hold
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to those expectations no matter what.
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I'll give you a great example. I had a client I worked with for a while.
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Great safety record going on inside the organization.
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And we're doing their annual review, taking a look at some of their policies
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and started to look at their workers' comp claims.
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And all of a sudden, I saw this drastic increase in injuries and accidents.
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And I said, what's going on? What has changed this year? And the safety director
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is like, I know exactly what it is. He goes, but nobody will listen to me.
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He goes, we couldn't find drivers. And our driver requirement was two years
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professional driving experience before we'd even interview.
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He goes, we went down to six months, six months and we'll hire you.
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He goes, now our numbers are through the roof, Nick.
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And he goes, leadership gave in on that because they were worried about getting
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enough butts in the seat to get the trucks rolling. And this is what happened.
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Leadership was not willing to stick to their guns on this standard that they
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had set for 20 plus years.
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I see that every single day with our clients, it's,
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becoming more challenging to find qualified drivers with experience.
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There's more operational pressure than ever because profit margins are thinner.
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We've got the impact of a variety of things. And the second you digress from
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what you've developed is when you increase the likelihood of an accident,
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but also you increase liability. You become a less defensible organization.
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I just had a LinkedIn post the other day pertaining to a webinar I participated in a few years back.
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It was a large plaintiff's firm that talked about effective discovery.
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What they ended up doing is taking a company's training program, policies.
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Hiring practices, driver testimony, safety testimony, and they showed the company
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had all these programs in place, but they were failing to execute.
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And it ended up driving a very large award because the jury was very unhappy
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that this company put the motoring public in danger.
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They had the resources to succeed, but leadership failed to consistently execute
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and hold folks accountable, which is a whole culture issue.
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It is. And it's, you know, it's something that we have to start to change.
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I talk a lot about leadership and culture for organizations,
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and there's oftentimes that I go into organizations, the safety manual's got
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two inches of dust on it, right?
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Well, we checked the box. We got it here in case OSHA ever knocks on our door.
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They don't think about the litigation side of that.
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And I've heard you and I've seen you post about it recently and talk about it.
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And it really has me thinking about talking with more clients about it's great
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that we have this, but are you actually doing it?
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Are we doing some checks and balances to make sure that what we've developed
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is happening on the floor or on the roads out there?
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Are we doing it to meet a standard or to check a box? Or are we doing it because
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we truly want going to make a difference.
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And you probably talk about this often. I do. Humanizing safety.
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Helping people want to make the right decision rather than you telling them what to do.
00:14:50.611 --> 00:14:54.091
Because the second you tell someone what to do, when you turn the corner,
00:14:54.491 --> 00:14:57.051
they're reverting right back to that original behavior.
00:14:57.271 --> 00:15:00.471
So I always explain, humanize safety, make things relatable,
00:15:00.791 --> 00:15:05.271
make people want to do the right thing because you'll have much more success within your operation.
00:15:05.471 --> 00:15:08.991
You will. And it's just, it's a culture piece and it's going to take time to
00:15:08.991 --> 00:15:10.251
fix it if you don't have it there.
00:15:10.511 --> 00:15:12.931
But that comes through training, that comes through education,
00:15:13.051 --> 00:15:14.551
it comes through leadership commitment.
00:15:14.831 --> 00:15:17.951
And I've seen companies make the turn. It doesn't happen overnight, but they can get there.
00:15:18.151 --> 00:15:21.291
While they're going through this process, because you already talked about telemetrics,
00:15:21.551 --> 00:15:24.291
let's hit on that a little bit. What are you seeing companies employ?
00:15:24.511 --> 00:15:26.871
What's out there? Technology is shifting so much.
00:15:27.111 --> 00:15:32.391
It's amazing what exists. I can tell you just from 2019 to 2025,
00:15:32.771 --> 00:15:35.651
looking at my car versus my wife's new car that we just got her,
00:15:35.771 --> 00:15:38.151
it's crazy what they just come standard with now.
00:15:38.311 --> 00:15:41.111
What are you seeing companies put out there telemetrics wise.
00:15:41.291 --> 00:15:42.651
And then we'll talk about driver aids too.
00:15:43.131 --> 00:15:48.071
Telemetrics, to your point, has evolved very rapidly over the past five or six years.
00:15:48.251 --> 00:15:51.711
And we briefly talked earlier about you can hire the right folks,
00:15:51.851 --> 00:15:54.891
you can train them, you can have policies, but without telemetrics,
00:15:55.171 --> 00:15:58.971
it's really hard to monitor their performance behind the wheel and understand
00:15:58.971 --> 00:16:03.431
whether or not they're following policies, they're executing on what they'd been taught.
00:16:03.731 --> 00:16:09.171
So you mentioned, you know, your wife's vehicle. A lot of these vehicles standard now are coming with
00:16:09.520 --> 00:16:12.720
adaptive cruise control lane change departure
00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.520
warnings where it'll pull you back in the lane
00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:18.440
if your blinker is not on which is great it's wild
00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:21.700
to think that accent rates are still as high as they are although
00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:25.980
all of this technology is being deployed and is almost standard well above and
00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:31.080
beyond that you've got like third-party telemetric systems you've got dongle
00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:35.620
base which can plug into your obd2 port and it gives you the basics it gives
00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:38.800
you vehicle tracking it gives you what i called the ABCs.
00:16:39.300 --> 00:16:44.140
Acceleration, braking, cornering. But you don't have a visual into what's taking
00:16:44.140 --> 00:16:48.500
place on the roadway or behind the wheel of the vehicle. You've just got the data.
00:16:48.780 --> 00:16:51.960
The data will tell you a story if there's a lot of speeding,
00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:56.340
hard braking, or cornering, but it's only a piece of the story.
00:16:56.540 --> 00:17:01.720
So the OBD2 port, like dongle-based telematics, is entry level.
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:05.960
And you see a lot of call it smaller operations starting to implement that because
00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:08.760
maybe they don't have the funds to implement the video base,
00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:12.380
which I want to talk about today, but it's still providing them insight into
00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:15.300
the behavior because it provides the ABCs.
00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:19.740
So they have an understanding, well, are people at least obeying the posted speed limit?
00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:23.820
Do they have a lot of heartbreaks? If so, maybe they're following too close or they're distracted.
00:17:24.100 --> 00:17:27.800
Are they taking corners too fast? So it's a wealth of information.
00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:33.420
But what you commonly see is you have all this data coming in to an organization,
00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:37.620
but they don't have the controls in place or the systems to understand how do
00:17:37.620 --> 00:17:39.760
they manage it? How do they hold folks accountable?
00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:41.960
How do they reinforce good behavior?
00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:47.100
And data that is untouched is meaningless. And if anything, a liability.
00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:50.520
So as that comes in, it's not just about capturing the data.
00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:54.060
It's having processes in place to be able to sort that data,
00:17:54.260 --> 00:17:56.180
having the knowledge base to understand the data.
00:17:56.566 --> 00:18:01.966
And then having some type of mechanism or control to react to that data in a
00:18:01.966 --> 00:18:03.026
positive or negative manner.
00:18:03.246 --> 00:18:07.266
What do you see companies do? Is it reward programs? Is it conversations?
00:18:07.266 --> 00:18:08.606
Is it part of the annual review?
00:18:08.826 --> 00:18:13.986
How do they dump that data and then make it useful instead of just putting it on a shelf somewhere?
00:18:14.186 --> 00:18:17.266
That's a good question. And that is a really big question.
00:18:18.866 --> 00:18:23.526
One, it's about purchasing the right technology for your operation to begin with.
00:18:23.846 --> 00:18:27.266
What are your goals? The technology should help support your goals.
00:18:27.406 --> 00:18:30.786
And I view telematics kind of like a scale.
00:18:31.026 --> 00:18:34.306
And what I mean by that is if you put a scale in your bathroom,
00:18:34.566 --> 00:18:38.546
that doesn't automatically make you a healthier individual.
00:18:38.866 --> 00:18:43.246
The scale by itself is a product. You want to treat that scale as a program.
00:18:43.486 --> 00:18:47.826
You put a scale in your bathroom and you complement it with working out,
00:18:48.426 --> 00:18:52.306
eating healthier, holding yourself accountable, you're going to see results.
00:18:52.966 --> 00:18:55.806
Well, telematics is no different. If you just implement telematics,
00:18:55.926 --> 00:19:00.746
it's a product. It identifies behaviors, but it doesn't change behaviors.
00:19:01.046 --> 00:19:06.286
So clients that implement the right technology that has the capabilities to detect,
00:19:06.891 --> 00:19:10.991
but also help you change your culture, help you reinforce your training and
00:19:10.991 --> 00:19:14.831
policies is typically what results in success.
00:19:14.871 --> 00:19:20.051
But a lot of our clients are taking this telematics data and they're leveraging
00:19:20.051 --> 00:19:22.131
it for targeted coaching.
00:19:22.511 --> 00:19:25.171
Well, Nick, if you've got a challenge with following distance,
00:19:25.251 --> 00:19:27.011
I'm going to coach you one-on-one.
00:19:27.151 --> 00:19:30.571
You may not even realize you have a challenge with following distance until
00:19:30.571 --> 00:19:33.511
I show you a video of you falling too close.
00:19:33.711 --> 00:19:36.751
We've got a lot of clients that are reinforcing positive behavior.
00:19:36.891 --> 00:19:38.411
Yeah, you've seen the studies.
00:19:38.791 --> 00:19:43.191
If you reinforce positive behavior, you're much more likely to continue to repeat that behavior.
00:19:43.451 --> 00:19:46.311
So you've got to use it to reinforce what individuals are doing well,
00:19:46.451 --> 00:19:50.331
but you also have to leverage it to coach an individual and try to coach them
00:19:50.331 --> 00:19:53.391
to success. And if you can't coach them to success, you need to coach them out
00:19:53.391 --> 00:19:56.371
of your operation because they become too large of a liability.
00:19:56.611 --> 00:20:02.111
So clients that leverage the data to coach, to reinforce positive behaviors.
00:20:02.671 --> 00:20:06.131
To target their training efforts are typically the most successful.
00:20:06.131 --> 00:20:10.751
I love the fact that you talk about coaching and using coachable moments because
00:20:10.751 --> 00:20:15.711
all too often I see organizations just go to that disciplinary action and they
00:20:15.711 --> 00:20:20.711
miss that whole opportunity to coach and to recognize good behavior. That goes so far, too.
00:20:20.911 --> 00:20:23.591
I talk about with my kids all the time. I can scream and yell at them,
00:20:23.711 --> 00:20:25.071
give them a change of behavior for a day.
00:20:25.171 --> 00:20:28.651
But if I coach them and spend some time with it, the transition is a little
00:20:28.651 --> 00:20:32.151
slower, but then it becomes more permanent. And that's how we have to really
00:20:32.151 --> 00:20:35.711
operate inside of our company with this data is to start having those conversations
00:20:35.711 --> 00:20:38.371
and those coaching moments, not those disciplinary moments.
00:20:38.591 --> 00:20:40.691
Not that there's not a point in time where we have to discipline,
00:20:40.831 --> 00:20:42.431
right? Like those things come up. I get it.
00:20:42.671 --> 00:20:46.651
My HR people tell me all the time. But it's about can we find those good coaching
00:20:46.651 --> 00:20:49.491
moments and use that to leverage and change that behavior?
00:20:49.871 --> 00:20:55.431
If all you do is use it for punitive purposes, people aren't going to buy in to the technology.
00:20:55.711 --> 00:21:01.211
They want to know what is in it for them. Well, you reinforcing positive behaviors shows them,
00:21:01.724 --> 00:21:06.164
a variable that what is in it for them, but also something that isn't talked
00:21:06.164 --> 00:21:08.724
about often enough is it'll exonerate a driver.
00:21:09.104 --> 00:21:13.624
It's typically a battle of who is at fault. Well, if you've got telemetrics
00:21:13.624 --> 00:21:18.184
data in front of you and you can clearly show that someone was not at fault,
00:21:18.324 --> 00:21:19.664
it exonerates that driver.
00:21:19.784 --> 00:21:23.124
It gives them a peace of mind and it saves the company money typically because
00:21:23.124 --> 00:21:26.584
maybe they don't have to pay out on something that they would have paid out
00:21:26.584 --> 00:21:28.284
if they didn't have data to support that.
00:21:28.444 --> 00:21:31.724
Well, and that brings into the conversation the video-based to pieces.
00:21:32.144 --> 00:21:35.164
When I was with the county, we started to roll out some programs where we were
00:21:35.164 --> 00:21:38.904
going to put some telemetrics for tracking of the vehicle from a safety standpoint.
00:21:39.164 --> 00:21:43.504
And then we also had discussions about cameras, both were inward and outwardly facing.
00:21:43.724 --> 00:21:46.264
And I'll tell you, I had some of the biggest fights from our drivers at first
00:21:46.264 --> 00:21:50.144
because their immediate response was, well, you just want to babysit me.
00:21:50.204 --> 00:21:53.724
You just want to watch me and get me in trouble for looking away from the road for a second.
00:21:53.804 --> 00:21:56.664
You're just trying to use this to catch us doing something wrong.
00:21:56.844 --> 00:21:59.144
And I had to get leadership to have that conversation about,
00:21:59.284 --> 00:22:03.704
no, number one, we want to know where you're at, not because we want to be punitive,
00:22:03.704 --> 00:22:05.384
but you're out on the road by yourself.
00:22:05.644 --> 00:22:08.964
If your vehicle hasn't moved for an hour and I go to ping it,
00:22:09.084 --> 00:22:10.584
I can come find you if something's going on.
00:22:10.904 --> 00:22:14.424
Number two, I want to be able to see what caused that accident.
00:22:14.684 --> 00:22:17.884
You know, where, you know, your eyes are on the road, you're driving how you're
00:22:17.884 --> 00:22:19.284
supposed to, and somebody cut you off.
00:22:19.544 --> 00:22:23.844
This video is going to make it so much easier for me to help you deal with the
00:22:23.844 --> 00:22:28.084
situation than it's just your word versus somebody else's word. That is a great point.
00:22:28.344 --> 00:22:33.904
I've been working with cameras for more than 14, 15 years when it boils down to commercial fleets.
00:22:34.004 --> 00:22:37.744
And 10, 15 years ago, I'd have clients tell me all the time,
00:22:37.884 --> 00:22:39.164
I'll lose all my drivers.
00:22:39.633 --> 00:22:43.813
And that's a myth. You're not going to lose your drivers if you do it right.
00:22:43.953 --> 00:22:49.173
And if anything, today, having video-based telemetrics in your vehicle is a norm.
00:22:49.353 --> 00:22:53.633
It's pretty common across a lot of commercial fleets. But I explained it.
00:22:53.813 --> 00:22:57.093
Fleets, if you're going to lose drivers, you're probably going to lose the drivers
00:22:57.093 --> 00:23:00.413
that you want to lose because they're doing something behind the wheel of vehicles
00:23:00.413 --> 00:23:04.493
they shouldn't be doing to begin with. But when you go to implement a program,
00:23:04.713 --> 00:23:06.833
be transparent with your drivers.
00:23:07.393 --> 00:23:12.973
Help them understand how the technology works, how it is going to be used, what is in it for them.
00:23:13.453 --> 00:23:17.633
If you do it right and you balance coaching and reinforcing positive behaviors,
00:23:18.033 --> 00:23:22.233
people typically welcome the idea, Nick, and I'm sure you guys started seeing
00:23:22.233 --> 00:23:23.413
that at the county. Yeah.
00:23:23.973 --> 00:23:26.893
We had to work with them and spend some time having those conversations.
00:23:27.233 --> 00:23:29.673
But when they started to see the benefits to it, and we could show them some
00:23:29.673 --> 00:23:31.833
case studies, there's lots of information out there.
00:23:31.893 --> 00:23:34.973
Hey, look at this court case and how this played out for this company because
00:23:34.973 --> 00:23:36.913
of that, how it played out for the driver.
00:23:37.033 --> 00:23:40.213
It becomes really powerful for them. You just have to be willing to put in that
00:23:40.213 --> 00:23:42.593
initial energy upfront to teach them.
00:23:42.953 --> 00:23:47.913
And it was powerful for us because I could see where we were having issues and
00:23:47.913 --> 00:23:51.293
make some changes, but I could also defend them when management's like,
00:23:51.413 --> 00:23:54.353
well, you know, they sit there in idle times an hour. Well, yeah,
00:23:54.493 --> 00:23:55.773
they're idle times an hour because of this.
00:23:56.113 --> 00:23:59.813
That information just solved a lot of problems for us. And yeah,
00:23:59.913 --> 00:24:02.653
did we have a few people that kicked and screamed and maybe one that left?
00:24:02.853 --> 00:24:05.873
Yeah, but I can tell you that I know just from visual experience,
00:24:05.873 --> 00:24:08.213
it was the person I was okay with them leaving any of this.
00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:13.099
One thing you'd asked earlier as well is how do you combat distracted driving?
00:24:13.639 --> 00:24:18.539
So I'd mentioned telematics really collects behaviors, and it's really up to
00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:22.379
your culture, your policies, your training to influence those behaviors.
00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.219
But telematics is evolving.
00:24:24.479 --> 00:24:28.999
Over the past couple of years, you've seen more artificial intelligence enter
00:24:28.999 --> 00:24:30.619
the marketplace than you ever have,
00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:36.599
where a lot of the video-based cameras now have AI event detection where it
00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:40.179
can pick up on, if you're following two cameras, close, if you have a mobile
00:24:40.179 --> 00:24:42.539
phone in your hand, if you're drowsy.
00:24:42.679 --> 00:24:47.519
But what you've seen stacked on top of that is AI in-cab alerts,
00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:52.399
where if you pick your phone up, the camera can automatically tell you distracted.
00:24:52.699 --> 00:24:57.219
So it's a great way to impact distracted driving is implementing this technology.
00:24:57.879 --> 00:25:02.859
Activating the AI event detection and the in-cab alerts, because what's stronger
00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:08.299
than an immediate notification to a driver that they're distracted or they're following too close.
00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:13.379
And it helps take pressure off the safety team because if a behavior can be
00:25:13.379 --> 00:25:17.479
self-corrected throughout the shift, reduces the likelihood of a loss,
00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:22.199
but also results in less coaching when they get back to the operation later that day.
00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:25.459
And what's great about that is it not only makes them safer at work,
00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:28.019
but it keeps them safer at home because the safety professionals,
00:25:28.199 --> 00:25:29.219
that's the one thing we want to do.
00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:32.619
We want people safe, not only at work, but we want those behaviors to transition
00:25:32.619 --> 00:25:37.699
to home. and our children and even our spouses pick up on our behaviors.
00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:40.779
And if they start to see us making those changes in our personal vehicle,
00:25:40.979 --> 00:25:43.819
it's going to influence them and start to change their behaviors on the road
00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:45.019
also. Couldn't agree more.
00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:49.559
It's all mindset and how you approach things. No one operates differently in
00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:51.599
a company vehicle than they do the personal vehicle.
00:25:51.739 --> 00:25:55.479
So if you could just change that behavior in general, it's going to pay dividends.
00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:58.959
Not only to that individual, the company, their family, the motoring public,
00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:03.039
So it's about influencing those decisions and helping people make that right choice.
00:26:03.239 --> 00:26:06.419
You know, this is great information. And I always look forward to these discussions
00:26:06.419 --> 00:26:09.559
and it gets my brain thinking about what next to do with some of my clients.
00:26:10.159 --> 00:26:14.479
As you think about the listeners here that are, you know, tuning in because
00:26:14.479 --> 00:26:18.099
they have a fleet, they are interested in driver safety.
00:26:18.399 --> 00:26:21.459
What is something that you would tell them to do?
00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:24.859
What is the one change that you wish you could get people to start to make today
00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:29.019
to make their driver safety program better or their own driving abilities better?
00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:34.339
That's a great question. I'd say challenge yourself to think outside the box
00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:39.699
and look at your program and ask yourself, what gradual changes can I make that
00:26:39.699 --> 00:26:42.459
over time will improve outcomes?
00:26:42.739 --> 00:26:48.499
It could be looking at your policies, your hiring, your training program.
00:26:48.699 --> 00:26:51.079
All too often, we become complacent.
00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.159
We put something in place and we expect it to continue to produce results.
00:26:55.159 --> 00:26:58.539
Will driver profiles change? The environment changes.
00:26:59.019 --> 00:27:03.879
Consistently evaluate your programs and make gradual improvements because it
00:27:03.879 --> 00:27:06.119
will help you better control your outcomes.
00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:11.119
Secondly, April every single year is Distracted Driver Month.
00:27:11.610 --> 00:27:15.830
If you're not getting involved with National Safety Council or NHTSA,
00:27:16.030 --> 00:27:20.410
they have a ton of resources out there that are free, available to anyone.
00:27:20.830 --> 00:27:23.470
Jump on their website, look at the stats, download the material,
00:27:23.670 --> 00:27:27.290
share it with your fleet because it will increase awareness.
00:27:27.790 --> 00:27:31.450
Do your part, help people return home to their loved ones. That is awesome.
00:27:31.630 --> 00:27:34.570
And, you know, we will definitely be doing a shout out to National Driver Safety
00:27:34.570 --> 00:27:38.310
Month here on the channel and making sure that we get some information put out
00:27:38.310 --> 00:27:44.350
to our listeners because I find that toolbox talks or safety councils or safety
00:27:44.350 --> 00:27:47.270
meetings are so powerful because it resets your mind on that.
00:27:47.370 --> 00:27:48.630
It puts it to the top of your priority.
00:27:48.770 --> 00:27:53.450
So if we start to continually drive that to our drivers, then they start to pay more attention.
00:27:53.750 --> 00:27:56.970
Tim, if these listeners want to reach out to you and they got more questions,
00:27:57.070 --> 00:27:59.750
they want to pick your brain, try to work with you on some projects.
00:27:59.790 --> 00:28:01.870
How do they get ahold of you? What's a good way to contact you?
00:28:02.010 --> 00:28:06.590
I'd love for the audience to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I consistently post
00:28:06.590 --> 00:28:11.790
fleet safety topics, whether it's culture, leadership, accountability, telematics.
00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:16.070
So if you want to sign up, follow me on LinkedIn, and I'll continue to provide
00:28:16.070 --> 00:28:18.590
that content because anything I can do to influence and help,
00:28:18.810 --> 00:28:20.430
I want to do my part. All right.
00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:24.470
Follow Tim over on LinkedIn. I do it. And I know Mike Thompson does that too
00:28:24.470 --> 00:28:25.410
from our safety council.
00:28:25.630 --> 00:28:29.470
So Tim, once again, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy week
00:28:29.470 --> 00:28:32.450
to be with us here today. We really appreciate you.
00:28:32.630 --> 00:28:35.330
Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed today's podcast.
00:28:35.590 --> 00:28:38.690
For more episodes, check us out on your favorite podcast app,
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00:28:43.530 --> 00:28:47.270
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00:28:47.410 --> 00:28:51.830
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00:28:51.830 --> 00:28:54.310
becoming an active member of the Portage County Safety Council,
00:28:54.550 --> 00:28:59.250
please visit our website at www.portagecountysafetycouncil.com.