I recently saw a survey that focused on safety. The 2026 Motive AI Road Safety Report was based on data analyzed from Motive’s AI dashcam. According to the report, “This analysis focuses on AI-detected safety events captured in 1.2 billion hours of video to identify when, where, and why collisions occurred from 2024 to 2025.” I wanted to share where the data came from because whenever you are evaluating something, you need to make sure the data you are relying on is valid.
One report finding was that “behavior—not road conditions or mileage—is the dominant driver of collision risk. Drowsiness, distraction, and aggressive driving consistently precede incidents.” Motive’s analysis concluded—and I agree—that “collisions are increasingly preventable.” The data showed that for every one collision organizations see, there are seven near collisions. Technology like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that provide alerts to drivers about a potentially unsafe condition is helping reduce the number of accidents.
As fleet managers, we can address the top three behaviors: drowsiness, distraction, and aggressive driving. Drowsy driving is probably the most difficult of the three to control, though I continue to see more technologies available as I attend trade shows, including specialty baseball-style caps that drivers wear. These are designed to detect and alert drowsy drivers. Perhaps this is something worth considering. Fleets have no control over what drivers do during their off hours, but fleets need to do what they can to spot a drowsy driver and not let them get behind the wheel.
Distracted driving and aggressive driving are somewhat easier to address through driver training and coaching. Speeding, harsh braking, hard cornering, and swerving out of the lane are some examples of aggressive driving. In many cases, distracted driving is related to cell phone use, but it can also be caused by smoking and eating while driving. Every fleet needs a distracted driving policy and a way to enforce it. If you are serious about eliminating distracted driving, you need to strictly enforce the policy whenever you become aware of it. There is no “looking the other way just this one time.”
In many ways, today’s driver managers and fleet managers are luckier than they were in the past because the telematics devices and other sensors on our trucks provide a wealth of data about the health of the truck as well as how the truck is operated. We should be looking at the data on a regular basis, and when we see patterns of aggressive driving, we need to engage in driver coaching.
In sports, we think of a coach’s job as helping the team as a whole and each person on the team to get better. We can apply that same definition to driver coaching. We are working with drivers to help them improve their driving skills, which is good for the fleet and the drivers themselves. When we help drivers avoid some of the key factors that lead to accidents, we help them be safer, and we help make the highways safer.
Implementing strict policies about drowsy, distracted, and aggressive driving, and then coaching drivers when they engage in these behaviors, can prevent accidents and save lives. That makes it very worth our time and effort.
