DriveCam study pinpoints dangerous driving behaviors

DriveCam Inc continues its Insights Series by focusing on the long-haul trucking industry. Designed to provide insight for transportation executives and managers, the Insights Series is derived from DriveCam’s database of more than 17 million driving events from 2 billion driving miles.

With so much focus in the news on collisions caused by distracted driving, DriveCam was surprised to find it actually ranks #3 on the list of behaviors. Following too Close and Not Looking Far Ahead are bigger issues than Distractions in the long-haul trucking industry. However, a closer look at Distractions reveals that handheld cell phone use is the most common distracting behavior among long-haul trucking drivers. The Top 5 Driving Behaviors among all long-haul trucking vehicles in order are:

1. Following too Close
2. Not Looking Far Ahead
3. Distractions
4. Traffic Violations
5. Failed to Keep an Out

Delving a bit deeper, DriveCam examined Collision Rates (collisions per vehicle in service), comparing long-haul distribution trucks with local distribution vehicles. Despite the difference in number of miles driven each year, the collision rates are surprisingly similar: 5.9% for long-haul distribution trucks and 5.8% for local distribution vehicles.

In a recent presentation titled, “2008 National Truck and Bus Crash Picture,” the FMCSA Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology noted that 1% of long-haul trucks involved in a collision in 2008 were involved in a collision with a fatality, 17% were involved in a collision with an injury, and 82% were involved in a collision with property damage only.

DriveCam’s Insights Series will be released on an ongoing basis. Next up: Long-Haul Trucking Behaviors and Collisions vs. Other Industries.