One Simple Step to Improving Your Driving
By Del Lisk, vice president of safety services

As June is National Safety Month, it is important to remind your drivers of two basic steps for improving driver behavior. Each year, rear-end collisions account for about 30 percent of all U.S. traffic collisions. Almost every one of these two million collisions is a combination of poor awareness and inadequate spacing.

Awareness can improve, but as long as a human is controlling the vehicle, lack of attention will remain an issue. As our customers will attest, DriveCam is an invaluable asset in identifying and correcting poor awareness behind the wheel before it leads to a serious incident.

Space, or rather lack of space, is a different issue. Some will argue that there just isn’t any space available and they have no choice but to stay with the pack and hug the tail of the driver ahead. And, if they drop back, someone will just cut in and fill that space. This argument looks good on paper. After all, there are 40 million more vehicles on the road today than just 10 years ago, with few new roads to accommodate this growth.

But in truth, this is just an excuse for poor driving. Most people begin their driving careers very aware of the need for space. Over time, false confidence and complacency set in. Unknowingly, many motorists edge closer as they gain experience, reducing the space ahead. They may get away with it for a while, but risk is increased and consequences will follow. We just don’t know when.

I’m not talking about aggressive tailgaters. They are quite aware of the risks they are taking. I’m referring to the well-meaning driver who is unconsciously following from one to 1 ¾ seconds behind the car ahead. We’ve all ridden with this type of driver. They happily chat along with you while they drive despite the fact less than two seconds separates them from disaster. Meanwhile, you are nervously jamming your feet into the floorboards, trying to will the vehicle to back off from the vehicle in front.

Sufficient space ahead is critical. Our daily reviewing of thousands of DriveCam event recordings for our customers reveals too few people have the space they must have to control their own fate.

The problem is that driving is routine. Most drivers aren’t even aware of the poor space they are maintaining. The DriveCam solution is crucial to improving this behavior because positive change begins with recognition of the problem. Using DriveCam’s behavior-based risk mitigation solution, fleet managers quickly identify drivers with risky spacing issues. Armed with objective evidence, these managers can then show these drivers the skill deficiency. One of the most common comments from drivers new to DriveCam is, “I didn’t even know I was doing that.” After viewing the event, the driver then returns to the field with the mission of improving this driving technique. And it does improve. If change does not occur, DriveCam’s palm-sized, exception-based video event recorder will capture it and the process begins anew.

A study done by Daimler-Chrysler found that an extra second of warning could prevent about 90 percent of rear-end collisions. This extra second of space is there if drivers just work for it. Use DriveCam as your partner to improve the following distance maintained by your drivers. If you can give them just one more second you’ve dramatically decreased their risk behind the wheel. Their lives depend on it.

Our recommended following distance is a minimum of three seconds, preferably four. An additional one or two seconds should be added for large or heavy vehicles or when in poor road conditions.