JS Helwig & Sons, a contract carrier of temperature-controlled freight, recently signed a multi-year contract renewal with SmartDrive, which provides video-based safety and transportation intelligence.
The reefer carrier reports reducing bodily injuries by 60% since adopting the SmartDrive safety program, along with seeing 44 plaintiff attorneys drop their initial claims after reviewing SmartDrive videos, and reducing DOT scores for crash indicator and unsafe driving. Additionally, Helwig says its experienced only a “moderate” increase in its insurance rates, despite steep increases experienced across the market.
“SmartDrive has been a game changer for us,” said Dave Benson, director of safety at JS Helwig. “On-time delivery is important, but safety is No 1. The immediate safety benefits we received from the SmartDrive program have continued long after our initial implementation, which is why we were delighted to renew our contract.
“With both road-facing and cab-facing cameras, we’re able to correct bad habits before they become accidents, which is evidenced by the results we’ve seen—fewer accidents, bodily injuries and claims from plaintiff attorneys. It’s amazing.”
Headquartered in Terrell, Texas, Helwig operates 350 trucks hauling refrigerated goods across the Midwest, southeast and northeast United States. Helwig implemented the SmartDrive program in 2016 across its entire fleet—both company drivers and owner-operators—with the aim of reducing collision frequency and maximizing protection for drivers. A carefully planned rollout communication strategy ensured driver buy-in early on. In addition to experiencing no driver attrition as a result of adoption, Helwig’s SmartDrive Safety Score improved 65%.
“When we initially rolled out the program, we made a point of educating our drivers on how it worked and how it would help them should they be involved in an incident,” Benson said. “Beyond not losing any drivers during our rollout, I now have drivers calling me and telling me about incidents before I even see a video. Given the choice of one or two cameras, the majority of drivers choose two—for protection.”
The Helwig team says it appreciates the consistency and flexibility of the SmartDrive program, In addition to allowing the company to provide road-facing cameras to some drivers, and road- and cab-facing cameras to others as needed, Benson points out that SmartDrive’s managed service program ensures managers only see events that need coaching, whereas video safety providers that rely solely on computer vision can overwhelm fleet managers with events.
“The SmartDrive platform paid for itself in the first year. Saving us time and money, the program continues to deliver results as measured by safety and operational improvements,” Benson said. “All it takes is one minor lawsuit and you’ve recouped your investment. SmartDrive delivers.”
Learn more from SmartDrive customers at smartdrive.net/why-smartdrive/customer-success.