The increasing number of vehicle accidents on South Africa’s roads, particularly those involving trucks, raises many questions about the standard of driver training, the safety of all road users and the soaring costs to repair the damage and lost productivity as a result.
Managing soaring fleet costs, protecting company reputation and reducing the potential for liability means fleet managers are constantly having to review their risk management strategies, coupled to evolving technological advancements in the field.
To address these challenges, Aon South Africa – a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage and speciality insurance underwriting, joined forces with One Sure and brought in the expertise of DriveRisk to assist in the creation of Aon Fleet Solutions (AFS), an innovative offering that addresses the individual needs of fleet operators – ensuring profitability, growth and reputation.
“Accidents on South Africa’s roads cost the economy over R300-billion each year in damage and downtime,” says Louis Swart, managing director of DriveRisk. “While vehicle faults and road conditions play a role, a staggering 83% of all accidents are caused by poor driver behaviour, the single most destructive element on our roads.”
The Aon Fleet Solutions offering is based on a Drivecam (powered by Lytx) video event recorder that includes views of both the road ahead and the driver. The visual footage is mapped to information from the accelerometer, GPS systems, microphones, engine control units and advanced safety systems.
Once an incident triggers on an exception basis – such as harsh braking or acceleration – eight seconds of footage prior and four seconds of footage following the event is sent to centralised review centres. Teams of experts and analysts then review, identify and verify behaviours subject to scoring algorithms.
Statistical and predictive models produced predict the likelihood of future collisions, right down to an estimated time frame. Based on this data, fleet and risk managers can implement specific coaching and retraining programmes that directly address the behaviour of each driver.
The science behind it provides fleet owners with actual data and non-editable footage that are specific to each driver and admissible in court. The combined data provides a clear picture of what happened, as well as invaluable insight into recurring driver behaviour that can be used to coach the driver in a constructive and pro-active manner.
“The aim is to improve overall driver behaviour which will ultimately reduce the likelihood of collisions for the entire fleet, allowing operators to manage their financial and legal exposures, increase productivity, protect the company’s reputation, its employees and other road users,” says Swart.
Swart adds that proven results show that not only does the system reduce fuel and maintenance costs by up to 12% but also reduces collision claims costs by as much as 80%. “Due to its global footprint, the DriveCam data allows fleet operators to benchmark their driver behaviour against that of fleets in countries all over the globe,” he explains.
According to Deon Grobbelaar from Aon South Africa’s Risk Solutions Division, an important aspect of managing a claim and the potential for any liability is accurately capturing information at the scene of an accident. Aon’s mobile claims application simplifies and speeds up this process and ensures that no important information is omitted. The mobile app provides:
- Immediate reporting after the incident, available 24/7.
- A guide for the driver on what to do at the accident scene.
- Comprehensive incident details captured immediately, either verbally or via the app so that no details are forgotten.
- A panic button that links to a dedicated 24/7 call centre, that support drivers through the traumatic experience.
- Captures all critical information at the accident scene for effective third party recovery action.
- Immediate data uploading of accident details at the accident
“Aon’s expert insights into a fleet operator’s daily activities mean fleet managers now have a solution that addresses every possible angle of their operation. The combination of intelligent analytics specific to each fleet, mapped against industry standards, provides a platform to mitigate the risks associated with a fleet operation as well as benchmark for on-going improvement.
“This system bridges the gap between having the data and translating this into specific coaching and training interventions to address and prevent risky driver behaviour,” says Grobbelaar.
It’s all the right stuff.
