This month is Distracted Driving Awareness month, and calling attention to the problem of distracted driving has never been more important. Roadway fatalities are up, and distracted driving is a key reason, according to new data. Fortunately, advanced predictive-AI can help fleets dramatically reduce distracted driving within weeks.
The latest distracted driving numbers
Approximately 3,142 people died in the U.S. in 2020 in distraction-affected vehicle crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Those are the latest numbers available from the agency, which defines “distraction-affected” as a crash involving at least one distracted driver. That works out to be more than 8 people dying every day.
Hundreds more people are injured every day in crashes involving distracted driving, according to National Safety Council (NSC) estimates. The NSC also estimates that roadway deaths in the U.S. increased 9% in 2021 compared to 2020 and 18% compared to 2019.
However, it is possible to lower those numbers, and fast. In fact, our customers see most drivers reduce distracted driving by 80% within two weeks, without management intervention.
Our customers can also achieve 40% to 80% reductions in collision loss within months of deployment.
Reducing distracted driving with predictive-AI
Predictive-AI makes results like these possible. Predictive-AI powers our driver behavior alerts, which help drivers avoid distracted driving in real time. See how they work in this short video.
As you saw, our driver behavior alerts escalate in intensity and account for the context of the situation to help your drivers reduce distracted driving and avoid collisions.
Our driver behavior alerts also help reduce other risky driving behavior, including tailgating, speeding, and drowsiness. We’ve designed our alerts to be highly accurate, minimizing false alerts that can annoy drivers and hinder adoption.
We’ve also incorporated distraction detection into our predictive collision warnings because we know that collisions are complex. To prevent them, you need to account for multiple factors all at once, including driver behavior, vehicle speed and movement, road conditions, traffic elements, and external hazards.
When a collision is imminent and Nauto detects driver distraction, the predictive collision warning may sound earlier, and that can help drivers refocus and self-correct, helping prevent collisions.
One of our customers compares Nauto to an “on-board coach” that helps his fleet proactively avoid distracted driving and collisions. Watch this video to discover why he recommends Nauto to any fleet looking to improve safety.
Learn more about this fleet’s success with Nauto.
What’s next
Reducing distracted driving can save lives and prevent life-changing injuries. In an upcoming fireside chat, our CEO, Stefan Heck, talks with someone who knows this better than anyone. Stay tuned for this powerful conversation.
And, in honor of Distracted Driving Awareness month, we have released several new features. We’ve designed these enhancements to help fleet drivers avoid more kinds of distractions and help fleet managers get even more value from our driver and vehicle safety solution. Contact us to learn more about what Nauto can do for your fleet.
Author bio: The Nauto Story Scout is always on the lookout for ways to help you improve driver safety, prevent collisions, and make our roads safer for all. The Story Scout learned many of its skills from the Nauto predictive-AI, which is always on the lookout for risks and distractions to help your drivers stay safe.
