Three Metrics to Monitor Truck Driver Safety

You know truck driver safety is important, and tracking your vehicles can help you monitor your drivers to ensure they are practicing the rules of the road 

At ClearPathGPS, we’re passionate about making sure you get great data and empowering you to make the most of that data—particularly when it comes to investing in truck driver safety.

Otherwise, simply receiving reports from your system can get overwhelming. It shouldn’t be. You should feel like you can use your tracking system to benefit your business and boost your bottom line in a relatively straightforward manner. 

Let’s talk about how to make that happen. Monitor these three metrics to visualize truck driver safety, and learn how you can better protect your drivers—and your assets. 

What are the benefits of truck driver safety? 

We know—we’re preaching to the choir.

This may seem like an odd question. Clearly, you want your people to be safe. 

But there are many nuanced reasons why truck driver safety is essential for your business, including: 

• The health and safety of the truck driver 
• The health and safety of other motorists on the road
• The integrity of your assets and resources
• Your company’s reputation
• Your company’s insurance rates
• Company morale
• Your bottom line 

While truck driver safety alone is sufficient motivation for any business owner, you can accomplish so much more with the savvy use of GPS tracking data.

What metrics should you monitor for truck driver safety?

When you hired your truck drivers, you looked into their past driving performance. You wanted to know if they were safe, efficient drivers. If they were, you felt reasonably confident those drivers would perform well while working for you.

With a GPS tracking system, you don’t have to let the past speak for the future. You can get real-time data about how safe your drivers are on the road.

Here’s the most relevant data to focus on: 

1. Speeding Events

Speeding is a risk factor for dangerous, even lethal, accidents. Unfortunately, there’s even more at stake, including undue wear and tear on your assets or a hike in your insurance premiums. A 2022 Forbes Advisor analysis showed that insurance rates for drivers went up by almost 25 percent after just one speeding ticket. 

To help make sure this doesn’t impact you, you can pull helpful speeding reports straight from your GPS tracking system. Our reports show how many times a driver drove over a certain speed threshold, the number of speeding events within certain time intervals, and more. 

2. Driver Behavior

Over time, as you collect data, you can pull together a compelling picture of your drivers’ behavior. 

You can also learn whether your drivers exhibit driving patterns that are tough on your vehicles. Harsh driving events (hard braking, cornering, and excessive acceleration) put vehicles and people at risk. And some vehicle performance data, such as unnecessary idling events, can help you figure out where your drivers may not be using your vehicles as efficiently as possible. 

As a result, you can reward drivers who are performing well and instill measures to increase good driving habits where necessary. 

3. Vehicle Health

A properly maintained vehicle is, on balance, a safer vehicle. Yet when you have a full fleet to maintain, it’s easy to let deadlines pass. 

With a fleet management provider and GPS tracking system, you can pull preventative maintenance alerts and reports—and even get needed maintenance on the calendar—all within an automated system.

As a result, your employees won’t be driving vehicles with low tire pressure or overdue maintenance. 

What can monitoring these metrics do for truck driver safety and your business? 

In addition to boosting truck driver safety, keeping an eye on these metrics can really help you and your bottom line. For example, with this data in hand, you may see: 

Reduced Costs

Improve the driving behaviors of your employees, reduce the number of speeding events, and reduce your insurance costs—or, at least, be confident that they won’t skyrocket due to one unfortunate incident. With hard numbers at your disposal and a fleet fully outfitted with trackers, you may even be able to negotiate a reduced rate. 

Saved Time

With GPS tracking, you can help your drivers take the most efficient routes, cut down on unauthorized pit stops, and more, saving time and even allowing the possibility of adding another gig or two into your drivers’ day. 

Saved Money

From reducing accidents and saving fuel to reducing insurance costs, boosting efficiency, and more, GPS tracking can really help you cut down on extraneous costs. That money goes back into your business, allowing you to utilize your resources more effectively instead of wasting money on excess gas, time, or replaced assets. 

Rely on ClearPathGPS for practical, accessible ways to protect your people and your business.

Through clever use of a GPS tracking system, you can access real-world, real-time data to make realistic decisions that protect your people and your business.

It’s simpler than you think to save time and money and safeguard your drivers and assets. The team at ClearPathGPS is here to help you get the most out of your GPS tracking system. 

Ready to consider choosing ClearPathGPS as your fleet management solution provider? Contact our team for more information; we’ll be happy to set you up with a demo, answer any questions you may have, or chat about your business goals!