Dealing with trucks day in and day out, comfortable and familiar with their mechanical innards, it can be natural to trust in their analog approach to things over newer, digital solutions to ongoing issues.
But technology, always advancing, can work wonders if used correctly, and modern technology solutions can go a long way to helping you and your trucking fleet lower your trucking insurance prices.
For the owner of a trucking fleet, dealing with multiple trucks, multiple routes, multiple drivers and a number of other factors, the essential need at all times is for data.
Data is your best friend if you are following your safety plan and guidelines.
Data can also be your friend if you find you’re failing to follow those things, as it will show where you’re falling behind and what needs to be addressed. Numbers don’t lie and by collecting the numbers that represent your fleet’s performance, you can not only discover where you succeed and where you fail, but implement policies to address both aspects.
The more data you have, the more you learn about how your fleet and personnel are functioning, and furthermore, what can be improved where the data shows progress is lagging.
There are numerous devices you can equip on your trucks to collect data, including cameras, governors and telematics systems. Using that data, you can not only fix issues within your fleet but, once the data improves, use it to start saving money on your trucking insurance.
For that to work, of course, the data MUST show what you’re telling the insurance companies. Mismatched numbers can only hurt you. Reporting accurate data is essential and, as your fleet uses the data to improve its performance, will see your insurance rates lower due to improivng performance.
Cameras, for instance, can help in the case of accident claims. Forward facing cameras have been shown to help expedite claims processing and prove trucking companies not-at-fault in specific incidents. Proving your drivers are following all traffic laws and exonerating them of fault can only improve your insurance rates.
Telematics systems are also an increasingly common tool for trucking fleets. They can measure fuel consumption, driving speed, record the location of vehicles, driver behavior and more. Collecting such information can give you a road map to greater performance.
Some truckers might want to install governors on their vehicles. Governors prevent the truck from exceeding certain pre-programmed speeds to push down insurance costs and potentially protect driver and cargo.
With such tools in hand, you can collect as much data as your fleet could ever want or need.
Fleet Risk Solutions can help you implement such technological tools, choosing what is right for your fleet and discovering where you can save on your insurance rates by using the best technology in the best ways to bring down costs.
Doing so will allow you to guide your fleet to a brighter future, using technology to lower your insurance rates and make your trucks more efficient in every way.
About the Author
Logan utilizes a holistic approach to assist trucking companies with growth, and survival in one of the most volatile times in our history. A strong risk management program is critical for every business, but trucking companies are extremely susceptible to breaks in the risk management process. Maintenance violations, driver violations, breakdowns, driver turnover, and the list goes on, all have a domino effect on each other, and the cost of operating a trucking company.