SmartDrive Convenes Transportation Safety Leaders for Collaboration, Recognition and Learning

Key topics included adoption of converged fleet technology, video safety, fleet telematics, and ELD

SmartDrive Systems video-based safety and transportation intelligence held its third annual sold-out customer conferences in Chicago and Atlanta last month. The conferences saw a 40% increase in attendance over the prior year and brought together transportation industry leaders from across the country, representing a variety of functions within their organizations. Each two-day conference was full of shared learning and collaboration designed to better equip fleets to respond to today’s most pressing safety, risk management and operational challenges.

“SmartDrive^® customers are widely recognized as leaders in the industry with their innovative approaches and commitment to fleet safety; and our annual conferences serve as a touchstone opportunity to exchange best practices, learn from one another and enhance relationships with like-minded colleagues,” said Steve Mitgang, SmartDrive CEO. “The continued growth in adoption of the SmartDrive program reaffirms the safety and business value it delivers. Our fleets experience results that outperform their peers in the areas of collision cost reduction, insurance premium reductions, driver retention, and fuel and operational savings.”

The 2019 SmartDrive Customer Conferences included plenary presentations on driver recruitment, retention and rewards; the importance of constructive coaching for performance improvement; and a spotlight on award-winning fleets. Customers participated in breakout sessions focused on a variety of topics in transportation safety. Highlighting the importance of video-based safety as a core element of any program, speakers shared how deployment of the SmartDrive program helped them achieve 60% improvement in fleet safety scores. Participants also focused on how data-driven insights provided by the SmartDrive program, with its managed service, enabled them to pinpoint risk and exonerate drivers, resulting in a 50% reduction in average claims cost, 50% reduction in preventable accident rate and annual savings of $2-3 million in subrogation costs.

SmartDrive also announced the recipients of its third annual Safety Ambassador and Trailblazer Awards, as well as the first annual Coach of the Year Award.

The SmartDrive Safety Ambassador Award recognizes individuals who champion safety within their fleet, demonstrating a passion to make our roads, their company and their drivers as safe as possible. Safety Ambassador Award recipients lead the way by advocating for the positive impact video-based safety can have on fleet safety and operations. This year’s winner is Matt Fridley, corporate manager of safety, health and security, Brenntag North America.

The SmartDrive Trailblazer Award honors pioneering and innovative companies that blaze a path for others to follow, while demonstrating a commitment to building a better world for others. Recipients of the 2019 award include:

• Acadian Ambulance
• Lynden
• Oakley Transport
• Penske Logistics
• Professional Auto Transport
• RATP Dev USA
• SP Plus

The newly introduced Coach of the Year Award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond coaching drivers and reinforcing safe driving behavior. These coaches also make a significant impact on their fleet’s safety score and company culture. The inaugural winners are:

• Steve Sanchez, supervisor of safety and business analysis, CFI
• Patrice Fourtina, safety driver performance coach, Decker Truck Line Inc.

To learn from SmartDrive customers how deploying the SmartDrive platform has materially improved safety, exonerated their drivers and saved lives, visit: https://www.smartdrive.net/why-smartdrive/customer-success. 

Category: Featured, General Update, News, Safety