.jpg)
Driver coaching is formal or informal educational instruction given to a fleet driver to improve their driver behavior over time and ultimately improve the safety of your fleet program and our roads. A successful driver coaching program is grounded in coaching best practices that promote two-way communication and an environment where the driver feels supported and not under attack.
What is the most effective type of driver coaching?
An effective driver coaching program is one that engages in quality input, provides supportive and constructive conversation, and establishes a clear commitment plan. The most effective type of driver coaching is evidence-based coaching that coaches drivers with real-world evidence to support discussions. Evidence-based coaching that leverages actual video evidence is proven to reduce collisions, increase savings, and improve road safety.
Why is driver coaching challenging?
Helping commercial drivers abide by safety policies and end distracted driving is critical to road safety. However, fleet and safety managers do not have the time to ride along with or engage with every driver, so they struggle with the scalability and effectiveness of one-on-one driver coaching as their fleets grow. Fleet managers also can’t coach what they can’t see. Many fleet and safety professionals are realizing that they don’t have the right fleet safety tools to maximize the effectiveness of their driver coaching—and don't have the metrics to improve their coaching skills and the behavioral impact on the driver.
How is AI improving driver coaching?
Deploying AI at the edge can meaningfully improve driver behavior in real-time. What is “AI at the edge?” By running AI-powered algorithms on a device, it enables fleets to understand driver behavior and automatically detect distracted driving and other high-risk behaviors in real-time. Because these AI-powered algorithms run in real-time, you are immediately able to coach drivers with progressive alerts to help them return their focus to the road. For fleet and safety leaders, safety starts—and collisions stop—when they can proactively detect and coach. Unlike traditional video telematics solutions that rely purely on after-the-fact coaching, real-time AI enables managers to quickly and proactively identify coachable opportunities that will help the driver avoid danger in future situations.
The Nauto approach to driver coaching
Nauto leverages AI-algorithms to detect and review high-risk events to streamline fleet safety operations while maintaining driver privacy. Unlike most solutions that require human review of detected driving events, Nauto’s automated event analysis prioritizes high-risk driving events in real-time, eliminating the need to wait days or weeks before fleets can review and discuss coachable events with drivers. In addition, Nauto has updated its Visually Enhanced Risk Assessment (VERA) Scores™ with a new risk algorithm, based on analysis and learnings from over one billion AI-processed video miles to provide a more actionable safety metric for effective driver coaching.
Nauto’s driver-first approach to driver coaching equips drivers with tools to engage with your safety program, making driver privacy, transparency, and empowerment a priority. Nauto only uses video to coach and exonerate, not to monitor drivers. For fleets seeking additional privacy protections, Nauto offers the ability to limit all coachable event uploads, allowing fleets to completely automate coaching through In-Vehicle Alerts, or even depersonalize media through automated blurring of faces and license plates.
Nauto Self-Guided Coaching provides drivers the same visibility into their driving behavior as their fleet managers. Using the Nauto fleet app, drivers are able to view their own safety scores and event videos, notify managers, and upload unsafe or unusual events—bringing transparency and open communication between the driver and manager. With this visibility, drivers can proactively coach themselves to improve their behavior behind the wheel, ultimately reducing the risk of at-fault collisions.
For the 20% of drivers who require formal, in-person training, Nauto Manager-Led Coaching allows safety and fleet managers to prioritize drivers that need immediate or additional training. The coaching equips managers with the tools to hold effective, efficient, and productive 1:1 driver training sessions to maximize their time and the behavioral change impact on the driver. Fleets can also integrate past high-risk events from anonymized drivers into their onboarding and safety training curriculum. This further improves driver safety or equips third-party safety consulting agencies with context-rich events to create a new curriculum to improve driver performance.
