Data from the past 12 months culled by onboard Drive Cam technology developer Lytx finds truck drivers encountering the highest rate of collisions on Thursdays and, in year-over-year terms, reducing rates of drowsy driving but increasing instances of cell phone use and failure to wear seat belts.
The firm analyzed driver behavior and incidents from long or regional haul, concrete, construction, refuse, distribution, transit, government and field service fleets; their 2019 hours netted data logged from 6 billion-plus vehicle miles traveled. Lytx presented noteworthy 2018-2019 trends in truck-driving safety and concentrated areas of risk in a second “State of the Data” presentation to the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition, staged in its San Diego home base earlier this fall.
“We put our driving data under the microscope to uncover new insights that will help fleets of all sizes improve safety and their bottom lines,” said Lytx Chairman Brandon Nixon. “With the fastest growing database of analyst-reviewed video of commercial driving behaviors in the world, Lytx is uniquely positioned to detect driving and roadway risks, as well as to identify trends and opportunities that can help save lives and improve the safety of communities we serve.”
“Along with the risks their own behaviors potentially pose, it’s important for drivers to be aware of the risk that exists outside their vehicles and how it varies throughout their journey,” added Vice President of Safety Services Del Lisk. “By understanding which areas are more volatile, like specific highway ramps or cities, drivers can proceed with greater caution and employ strategies that allow them to avoid unnecessary dangers.
“Given the[ir] unique operating characteristics, large trucks have longer stopping distances than other vehicles. This makes late response a critical behavior to identify and coach against. Truck physics also play in a role in seatbelt use. Drivers sometimes have a false sense of safety and security in large trucks due to vehicle size and may fail to recognize the importance of seat belt use, especially in rollover crashes.”
“There have been incredible improvements and powerful insights uncovered in the past year, and past two decades since our founding, but it’s clear there’s still work to be done in the name of safety,” Lisk concluded. “We must continue moving forward as an industry and leveraging the smartest technologies to help us to do so. Lytx is laser focused on advancing the use of machine vision and artificial intelligence to uncover even more risk and opportunities within our clients’ fleets.”
Note: Morning hours, 5-noon; afternoon, noon-5; overnight, 11-5.
SOURCE: Lytx State of the Data, 2018-2019