Fleet Managers and Safety Leaders know their greatest resource is their drivers and their ultimate goal is to keep driver’s safe, successful and feeling valued. However, they also understand how critical it is to keep vehicles and drivers productive on the road, reduce collisions, and decrease liability and maintenance costs. When struggling to balance this many are looking for an easy way to improve driver safety and reduce risk.
Driver Incentive Programs
One of the best ways to raise overall fleet safety and performance, is to create a driver safety incentive program that motivates drivers to push themselves to be better, improve ranking, and be more aware of what they are doing every day in their vehicles. New technologies powered by artificial intelligence (AI), help fleets understand and coach drivers in real-time while maintaining driver privacy. With this new breed of intelligent driver safety systems, fleets can become safer and smarter by using a data driven approach.
With reliable, real-time data, fleet and safety leaders can use big and small incentives to improve overall fleet safety. Since every fleet is different, managers can test what works best to motivate and appeal to the drivers. Incentive options could be written recognition by management, recognition at a company event, a one-time bonus, gift cards, company swag or even time off. Even the small incentives can go a long way. Just as personal wearable devices that track steps and heart rate can encourage us to live a healthier lifestyle, drivers who know their safety score can feel empowered to raise their overall level of driving skills.
3 Reasons to Create a Driver Incentive Program:
- Improve Driver Behavior - An AI-powered driver and fleet safety platform can assign a safety score to drivers based on their actual driving behavior. When the data is collected and analyzed, fleet managers have a wealth of driver and fleet information at their fingertips. In addition, when drivers are ranked, they can see how their personal driving performance compares with other drivers. Keeping your drivers informed about their standing in the driver incentive program will foster continued interest and competitive pressure to do better. The most effective driver incentive programs are based on a fleet’s safety and operational goals and ensure drivers understand how their driver behavior impacts those metrics.
- Improve Customer Satisfaction - Having a stellar safety record and making driver safety a core value of your organization can help build a brand that recruits and retains drivers and keeps customers coming back again and again. A safety-first fleet can differentiate itself from competitors by making its safe-driving records public and forming relationships defined by long-term trust and loyalty. Customers also win when they choose a trusted brand that keeps them safe.
- Improve Driver Safety Program - Similarly, a safety-first company attracts drivers who believe in creating danger-free work environments and share the company’s goals. With a fleet of risk-conscious drivers and a mission to excel in safety, the business will realize incremental operational changes. As safety records improve, for example, liability claims decrease. The time and resources spent fighting wrongful, at fault claims will drop. When accidents and collisions do happen, context-rich video resources are available to show what occurred and support a driver who is wrongfully accused. Fleets that can easily quantify their driving improvements have the facts and figures to show how they are making safety a core value throughout their organization.
AI-Powered Driver Incentive Program In Action
Nauto recently helped Secure Medical Transport, a non-emergency medical transportation company in Kansas City, establish a successful AI-powered driver incentive program. Nauto’s driver and fleet safety platform enabled them to establish and enforce a culture where everyone values the safety of their clients and staff above all. Their drivers feel protected and their customers are happier thanks to the high-level of service they are able to provide.
“We’ve been successful in turning dangerous behaviors around. One driver had 100+ events per month and that’s now down to almost 0.”
Joe McDonald, Safety Training Manager
When organizations rely on Nauto, they have the data and technology they need to improve driver behavior, prevent vehicle repairs and losses, reduce liability, and decrease risk. The Nauto leaderboard allows safety and operations leaders, fleet managers, and owners to easily rank drivers from safest to riskiest based on Nauto’s proprietary VERA Score® — the industry’s only safety score that accounts for distracted and aggressive driving behaviors. VERA scores and risky driving event details empowered Secure Medical Transportation to make changes among drivers when risky behaviors, such as drowsiness, speeding and distracted driving became problematic. They’re also afforded the opportunity to reward drivers when they are performing well or make improvements following driver coaching sessions. Company-wide “kudos” are merited and gift cards are provided, which reinforces the importance of following their safety policies in a positive manner. Secure Medical Transportation also welcomes and encourages driver participation and feedback to ensure they know what they need to work on to keep their staff happy.
Download the Secure Medical Transport success story to learn how Nauto can help you build an AI-Powered Driver Incentive Program today!
