GPS sharpens driver-risk predictions

March 1, 2008
DriverScore 2.0, a driver risk management system from Ivox, provides an objective measurement of individual driving behavior that, when analyzed and compared to Ivox's repository of GPS, geospatial and accelerometer information, gives an accurate picture of relative driving performance risk, according to the company. Ivox's DriverScore makes use of any vehicle-installed black-box device that can gather

DriverScore 2.0, a driver risk management system from Ivox, provides an objective measurement of individual driving behavior that, when analyzed and compared to Ivox's repository of GPS, geospatial and accelerometer information, gives an accurate picture of relative driving performance risk, according to the company.

Ivox's DriverScore makes use of any vehicle-installed black-box device that can gather ongoing data about a driver's behavior, including rapid acceleration, hard braking, lane changes, speed, location, time of day and other factors. “We are device-agnostic,” says Craig Lotz, Ivox president. “We really don't care where the data comes from as long as it has the granularity we need.”

The system transmits the collected data wirelessly so it can be analyzed through algorithms to create a risk-adjusted, objective assessment of driver conduct — the “driver score.” Fleets can use the score to help ensure the safety of their drivers and other motorists on the road. “We have thousands of insurance claims on file,” says Lotz. “We can compare an individual driver's performance to similar drivers and look for patterns, and there are always patterns … to identify high-risk motorists before an accident occurs.”

The company reports that its predictive driving performance models are based on more than 15,000 vehicle years of risk-adjusted GPS data, the largest repository of personal driving data linked to claims data.

The company says the 2.0 version of the software provides scalability and added functionality to make it easier to use. “The new version really enables us to scale the solution,” says Lotz. “We can accommodate more than 100,000 vehicles on the system now and soon we will have no limit.”

DriverScore can be used as:

  • Management and training tools for fleets;

  • Evaluation tools for driver hiring and compensation;

  • Components for price setting of commercial, personal and reinsurance policies for self-insured private fleets.

  • Methods to more accurately assess the underwriting risk associated with a particular driver.

“Insurers are increasingly using tools like predictive modeling to be able to limit risks and improve underwriting profitability,” says Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, research vp with the Gartner Group.

“Using tools to perform real-time data analysis, to predict driving risks and accident likelihood, will ultimately help insurers meet these business requirements. Used for fleet insurance, this gives insurers the opportunity to distinguish safe drivers from drivers who are simply accident-free, promoting safer driving and accident prevention.”
www.ivoxdata.com

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.  

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