Accidents Happen, Fleet Management Services Can Help
Fleet Management Services Help Protect In Case of an Accident
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2012 317,000 large trucks were involved in crashes in the USA alone.
- 65% of accidents involving two vehicles were front impact crashes
- 12% right side
- 17% left side
- 6% rear impacts
- 46% of these crashes involve both vehicles proceeding straight
These numbers suggest that vehicle collisions have cost these organizations a large sum of money, in personal injury and vehicle damage. However, the truck or vehicle driver may not be at fault, and there may be an opportunity to avoid costly repair and insurance fees. To accurately uncover what occurred and re-create a trip is to leverage fleet management services provided by a GPS fleet tracking company.
While the goal of fleet management services is to eliminate accidents from happening in the first place by being proactive, such as improving driver behavior, bottom line is accidents can still happen. Even the carefullest drivers can find themselves in an unexpected problem on the road. The key thing is to be aware that an accident does not always have to have an effect on your bottom line. With the use of our fleet management software, My.Geotab, fleet managers and business owners can use the tools provided to instantly analyze accidents.
Reports and Data
Looking at the trips history report and the map in My.Geotab has been the traditional way of looking at an event. There are more tools however, that provide insight into different occurrences, from acceleration graphs to point of impact graphs.
Acceleration Graph:
Below you will see a side-to-side acceleration graph. Negative represents right in this case. The graph shows the vehicle accelerated to the right at the point of impact, indicating to us the vehicle was hit from the left side.
Point of Impact Chart:
This is a speed profile chart that shows the speed of the vehicle during the time of the accident. In the case shown below, the yellow section indicates the vehicle was stopped before the impact occurred.
Engine Data:
The data from the device after the accident can also be looked at to assess any internal system damage. The key here is to look for any Engine Fault Codes. These codes will refer to problems in the vehicle reported through the engine computer. Anything from ABS (Automatic Braking System) to transmission issues. Engine status data can also be used to identify issues with the vehicle. An increase in coolant temperature, for example, can indicate possible coolant leaks or damage to the engine. Engine status data is displayed under Engine and Maintenance within MyGeotab.
Original Article From Geotab: Accidents Happen
