After years of fiscal strain, weary carriers are finding some solace in falling diesel prices and anticipated interest rate cuts. At the same time, however, carriers are still grappling with too much capacity in the trucking market.
This mix of indicators points to an overall environment where success – or failure – hinges largely on the decisions carriers make. In an industry that continues to be plagued by nuclear verdicts, carriers continue to face outsized risks surrounding litigation, safety initiatives and work culture.
“It seems like the plaintiff attorneys’ missions are still to put the motor carrier in the hot seat and show how they were negligent rather than a terrible tragedy, a moment of indecision or a bad decision by an individual,” said Adam Lang, director of customer advisory services at Netradyne.
Fleet owners can take steps to mitigate those risks, decreasing their chances of facing a detrimental verdict in an already challenging environment.
“Your appetite for risk changes when you have some situations in the market like we do right now,” Lang said. “By taking advantage of some of the technologies, like Netradyne’s intelligent dash camera, you can actually make a lot of sense out of the behaviors of a driver on the roadway.”
Carriers often adopt safety initiatives in order to minimize risk. These carriers also tend to face a lack of buy-in from their drivers. This is because the majority of safety offerings on the market today focus solely on what drivers do wrong, while ignoring what they do right.
Netradyne is different. The company has designed its Driver•i video safety platform to assess a driver’s true performance, including their positive behaviors. By also highlighting what drivers are doing right, the solution ensures carriers have a holistic view of their employees.
With the help of Driver•i, fleet owners can offer their drivers praise alongside any needed correction. They can also measure, reward and recognize positive driving behaviors, inspiring drivers to keep making good choices on the road. Since the system provides automatic coaching, it also enables fleet managers to focus on edge cases, knowing that their drivers are still receiving praise from the system along with the tools to self-coach.
All DOT reportable incidents – no matter how small or unavoidable – increase a carrier’s exposure to nuclear verdicts in the future. The choices drivers make on the road have a direct impact on the number of DOT reportable incidents carriers face each year, and every positive driving choice reduces the carrier’s exposure to risk.
“If you can see a 14% decrease [in DOT reportable collisions] when you put our system into place because you’re coaching more often and raising more awareness with your drivers, that’s money back in your pocket. That’s exposure that you never have,” Lang said.
Coaching and positive behavior reinforcement are powerful ways to reduce exposure. They are not, however, the only things carriers can do to protect themselves in the event of future litigation.
Lang encourages fleet owners to ensure that all hires align with their company’s hiring requirements. During lawsuits, carriers are often asked about their hiring practices. If the driver involved in the incident did not meet established requirements when hired, carriers are more likely to be penalized for adjusting their expectations in order to fill trucks.
Additionally, Lang noted the importance of collecting safety data in order to inform future decisions and potentially open the door for more productive safety conversations on an industry-wide level.
