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There's a story in every video. And there are stories in our newsletter on how to use those videos to reduce risky driving and improve your fleet's safety. Plus much more.
In the Driver's Seat | September 2008
In This Issue
- DriveCam Announces New CEO
- Following Distance Plays Key Role in Rear End Collisions; Lane Choice Does Too
- 56 Million Reasons to Drive Safely
- DriveCam Online ... Making Life Easier for You
- New Product Changes
- New Survey Results
- DriveCam Website Gets a Face Lift!
- We Couldn't Resist
- Mark Your Calendar: DriveCam 2008 Academy Schedule
- DriveCam at Industry Events
DriveCam Announces New CEO
Brandon Nixon, an entrepreneur and visionary with a track record of leading successful, high-growth businesses, joined DriveCam on September 2 as its new President and CEO.
Mr. Nixon joins DriveCam from ViaSat, where he most recently served as senior vice president responsible for all of the company’s commercial businesses. Prior to ViaSat, Mr. Nixon was CEO of Enerdyne Technologies, Inc. from October 2002 to June 2006, when it was acquired by ViaSat. Earlier, Mr. Nixon served as the chief executive officer of Enerdyne’s parent company along with a sibling subsidiary, Boatracs LLC, until divesting of Boatracs in October 2004. Prior to joining Enerdyne, Mr. Nixon spent nearly two decades in a variety of executive, management and investor positions within the technology and communication industries, including Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, PCSI/Cirrus Logic and SAIC.
Just prior to joining Enerdyne, Mr. Nixon was a general partner with a private equity firm, Housatonic Partners, where he founded the firm’s communications practice. In his capacity as general partner, he invested in or acquired a number of telecommunications-related companies. Mr. Nixon holds a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“Mr. Nixon has a proven track record of successfully leading high-growth, technology-oriented businesses,” said Justin Jaschke, chairman of DriveCam’s board of directors. “He will bring the strong leadership and keen strategic vision needed to guide DriveCam and strengthen its position as the global leader in driver risk management.”
“I am pleased to be stepping into this role during such an exciting time for DriveCam,” said Nixon. “As the clear leader in Driver Risk Management, the company is seeing tremendous opportunities across all its markets, and I look forward to being a part of its continued growth and success.”
Following Distance Plays Key Role in Rear End Collisions; Lane Choice Does Too
Analysts in DriveCam’s Risk InfoCenter™ reviewed incidences of rear end crashes to determine the impact of following distance on likelihood of collision. Analysis also identified steps drivers can take to lessen their risk of being involved in rear end crashes. With over 7 million events, Risk InfoCenter by DriveCam is the largest knowledgebase in the world to provide insight into risky driving based on actual driving behavior.
56 Million Reasons to Drive Safely
As 56 million children nationwide return to school, it’s important that everyone be even more aware of safe driving.
The number one cause of death and injury for youngsters less than 5 years of age are traffic collisions. Making the roads even riskier, is the increased number of bicyclists and motorcyclists looking for a way to save gasoline. And this year, in response to higher fuel costs, more school districts are reducing or eliminating bus transportation for students. This adds to the number of students walking or biking to school. Nothing could create a more challenging safety environment for everyone on the road.
One-fifth of all children 14 years of age and younger who die in motor vehicle crashes are pedestrians, according to NHTSA. These pedestrian fatalities are more likely to happen in the afternoon hours, when school is letting out. Please be sure to:
- Always stop for school buses loading or unloading students
- Drive slowly in and around schools and residential areas
- Don’t be distracted by cell phones, eating, changing the radio, etc.
- Obey speed limits within school zones
- Come to a complete stop at all intersections
- Look left-right-left at all intersections
- Scan between parked cars since children often dart into the street – particularly near school zones, playgrounds, bus stops and in neighborhoods
In addition to children walking to school, this is the time of year for new teenage drivers to begin driving to school. Their skills (already at risk) are challenged by wet and icy weather – potentially the first time they’ve driven in this type of weather. Inexperienced drivers facing slippery roads can make costly mistakes. According to NHTSA, nearly one million vehicle accidents a year happen in wet weather.
Once school starts, don’t let up your guard. Continue to drive carefully no matter what time of year or time of day.
DriveCam Online ... Making Life Easier for You
Many fleet and safety managers are quickly discovering the simplicity and new features of DriveCam Online.
As a managed services client, you can take advantage of all of the features built into this new portal. Of particular interest to many clients is the ability to now log their own help tickets, 24/7. By simply logging in your help request, you can track the progress of your issue, see how it’s been resolved and then easily follow up with technical support should additional questions arise. And while you’re there, check out our new online help feature. Now you can quickly search for help on any topic that may have you stumped.
As always, we’d love your feedback on these new features. Also, feel free to share any ideas you may have as to how we may improve the DriveCam experience for you. Simply submit your feedback to info@drivecam.com.
New Product Changes
As you may be aware, we recently made several exciting new changes to DriveCam Online. As a Managed Services customer, you’ll want to check these out!
New Survey Results
As part of our consumer development activities, DriveCam periodically surveys participants in its Teen Safe Driver Program – both teens and parents. From a survey of over 1,000 teens and their parents the results reveal:
- While over 60 percent of teens were negative towards the program when enrolled, 75 percent were positive after six months.
- While over 80 percent of teens thought, when enrolled, that it would be an invasion of their privacy, 66 percent said it didn’t turn out that way.
- 80 percent of teens recommend the program to their friends.
- 83 percent of parents say that they are even more likely to recommend American Family insurance to their friends as a result of the Teen Safe Driver program.
If you have a teen or know someone who does, take a look at our Teen Safe Driver program.
DriveCam Website Gets a Face Lift!
If you haven’t visited lately, take a peek at DriveCam’s newly updated website. We are excited to unveil a brand new look and a helpful new format that should get you where you need to go faster.
Please note that although many of our pages’ URLs have not changed, we have reorganized some sections for efficiency. If you have bookmarked any pages on our site, you may find that those URLs no longer exist.
As with most websites developed today, we recommend viewing our site at a 1024×768 screen resolution, although 800×600 will work as well.
We want this to be your one stop for finding the relevant information about your industry. Take a moment and take a look. And then, let us know what you think. As always, we look forward to your input and comments.
We Couldn't Resist
Our last newsletter prompted a letter we wanted to share from Tom Daniels, assistant director of Health Central Paramedic Services:
“We recently implemented the DriveCam program. All vehicles in our fleet have a video event recorder installed. I’m happy to report that DriveCam is the greatest thing since sliced bread! The fact that it actually captures the driving behaviors makes it far superior to black boxes, etc. when it comes to improving safety. In the few weeks we have had it up and running it has proven to be invaluable. It’s hard to see how we lived without it.”
Thank you, Tom. If you have any comments you’d like to share about your DriveCam experience, please send them to info@drivecam.com.
Mark Your Calendar: DriveCam 2008 Academy Schedule
Sept. 25, 2008 Boston, Mass.
Nov. 13, 2008 Las Vegas, Nev.
Presented by DriveCam’s leading safety expert, Del Lisk, the DriveCam Academy is a one-day session dedicated to presenting and sharing advanced techniques for optimizing your use of the DriveCam program. The course is ideal for clients currently using the program but looking for ideas on how to maximize results. This is also an excellent environment for those considering a DriveCam deployment but seeking guidance on how to put it all together. The fee for attendance is $285 per individual.
Come to this session to learn:
- The essential steps for success with the DriveCam program
- How to monitor program effectiveness
- How to analyze complex videos
- Surefire tips to maximize effective driver coaching
- Key functionality that may not have been available when you deployed your DriveCam program
- And much, much more
Space is limited. For information, or to enroll in one of the sessions, please call 866-419-5861 and ask for Del Lisk or e-mail your request to dlisk@drivecam.com.
DriveCam at Industry Events
Because of our leadership in the Driver Risk Management community, DriveCam has been invited to participate in a number of prestigious events. DriveCam will be speaking at industry-leading events discussing the benefits of a Driver Risk Management Program. Look for DriveCam at the following industry events:
September 16-18, 2008
Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
Del Lisk Speaks
October 6-8, 2008
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Visit our booth #7648
October 21-23, 2008
Tampa Bay Convention Center
Tampa, FL
Del Lisk Speaks
October 21-23, 2008
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MD
Del Lisk Speaks
Oct. 27-30, 2008
Tampa Bay Convention Center
Tampa, FL
Visit our booth #810
Congress of Cities & Exposition
Nov. 12-14, 2008
Orlando World Center Marriott
Orlando, FL
Visit our booth #705