Addressing negatives is just half of driver training

How do you improve fleet safety? The answer seems obvious — talk with the driver every time they mess up, right? 

“The way we’ve been taught to do fleet safety is perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists,” said Barrett Young, senior vice president of marketing at Netradyne, in joining FreightWaves’ WHAT THE TRUCK?!? to discuss why most fleet safety initiatives are counterproductive.

Young maintains that safety programs have traditionally only addressed half the problem — the times when drivers make mistakes. And he notes that infrequent driver training doesn’t help either.

“You have to recognize the good things these drivers are doing as well,” he said. “Think about it, 80 to 90 percent of their day is all really good driving.”

But with fleets focusing heavily on negative driver performance, it’s understandable why many drivers feel weary about the adoption of dash cams as the perception is that it can only hurt, not help them.

It all comes down to flipping the script.

“Drivers want to do better,” Young said. “They’re proud of their jobs, so talk to them about it. Those are the ones you don’t want to lose, so talk to them more, reward them, congratulate them on all the great things that they’re doing.”

In addition to having more fair and balanced conversations with drivers, as well as more frequent coaching sessions, Young also suggests fleets invest in safety systems equipped with automated coaching. 

Today’s most effective driving training methods are a bit more complex than just reviewing footage. Advanced dashcams are using artificial intelligence to coach drivers in real-time.

Fleets can do just that with Driver•i.

Netradyne’s advanced dash cam monitors distracted driving and risky behavior in real-time and provides instant feedback when such events occur. Driver•i will sound an audio alert when drowsiness or texting while driving is detected. 

What’s more, Driver•i also keeps track of traffic around the truck to assess such variables as follow distance, notifying the driver to widen the gap if they’re following the vehicle in front of them too closely.

“[Netradyne’s] GreenZone score helps prioritize which drivers you should talk to first, because you can see who’s exactly underperforming and, more importantly, who your best drivers are,” Young said.

Keeping track of both good and bad behavior, carriers are finding Netradyne’s GreenZone score to be an effective way to not only gauge fleet-wide performance but also create a fun way for drivers to compete with one another to see who can be the safest on the road. 

Who knew that drivers could actually enjoy the presence of dashcams? 

Click for more FreightWaves content by Jack Glenn.

More from Netradyne:

Show greater appreciation for your drivers this season

Choose a dashcam that targets your pain points

Driver•i dashcam helps bring out the best in drivers