Case Study: LifeCare Ambulance Inc.
LifeCare Ambulance Inc. uses DriveCam's Driver Risk Management Solution to reconstruct accidents, settle claims quickly and improve the overall safety of its fleet.
Situation
LifeCare Ambulance drivers collectively travel more than one million miles each year in a service area that spans 100 square miles and includes four cities and two townships with a combined population of approximately 160,000. These dedicated men and women provide emergency and non-emergency ambulance and wheelchair transport service to patients throughout Ohio's Lorain County.
LifeCare Ambulance was averaging four to five traffic accidents each year - a relatively small total given the size of the company (170 employees) and its fleet (40 vehicles) - and sought a way to reduce this number while increasing the overall safety of its drivers and passengers. The company also needed a way to quickly reconstruct accidents so claims could be resolved fairly and expeditiously.
Increasingly, LifeCare Ambulance found its drivers were bearing the blame in traffic accidents and they had no way to fight false claims, avoid "he-said/she-said" scenarios or demonstrate what really happened.
Solution
Herb De La Porte, vice president of operations at LifeCare Ambulance, had seen DriveCam's Driver Risk Management Solution when it featured only a forward-facing lens that captured activity outside the vehicle in black-and-white. When DriveCam evolved to color, he was hooked.
"When I first saw the DriveCam solution, I thought it was an incredible concept," said De La Porte. "In 2002, DriveCam introduced the dual-lens recorder and we began implementing the solution in our vehicles in earnest."
Today, every LifeCare Ambulance vehicle that transports a patient is outfitted with DriveCam's Driver Risk Management Solution, a palm-sized, exception-based video event recorder that is mounted on the windshield behind the rearview mirror and captures sight and sound inside and outside the vehicle. The recorder continuously records on a digital loop, but only saves an event when exceptional forces such as hard braking, swerving, sudden acceleration or collision trigger the recorder. The recorder then saves the critical seconds immediately before and after the triggering event.
A LifeCare Ambulance vehicle maintenance manager downloads and reviews every saved event and forwards instances of risky driving behaviors to supervisors for further review and discussion with their drivers. Supervisors provide drivers the coaching they need to improve their driving behavior.
Initially, LifeCare Ambulance drivers were reluctant to accept the DriveCam solution. De La Porte sought to mitigate some of the early misgivings about the solution by first implementing the recorders in supervisory vehicles and undertaking an education campaign across the fleet. Rollout continued across non-supervisory vehicles and within a couple of months, drivers were accustomed to the recorders in their vehicles.
"Now, you can see the disappointment when the recorder is triggered," said De La Porte. "Our drivers are professionals and take their driving responsibilities seriously. Overall, they experience greater peace of mind with the recorders because they know they won't be falsely accused in the event of an accident."
Impact
The DriveCam solution aids LifeCare Ambulance in accident reconstruction and defends drivers against false accusations. In one such instance, a LifeCare Ambulance driver entered an intersection on a yellow light and hit a vehicle that had driven through a red light. Because the events transpired so quickly, there was confusion among witnesses and blame initially was assigned to the LifeCare Ambulance driver. A police officer was citing the LifeCare Ambulance driver at the scene of the accident when the driver's supervisor arrived, downloaded the event from the recorder and was able to demonstrate what really happened. As a result, the police officer negated the ticket and cited the other driver for running a red light.
LifeCare Ambulance is experiencing other benefits as well. Prior to implementing the DriveCam solution, seatbelt compliance among LifeCare Ambulance drivers was low. Now, each time the recorder is triggered and saved events are forwarded to supervisors, they check to ensure drivers are wearing their seatbelts. Compliance is near 100 percent and driver safety has increased. De La Porte cited two accidents involving LifeCare Ambulance drivers. In both instances, the collisions were strong enough to deploy airbags and everyone walked away unharmed because they were wearing seatbelts.
"The DriveCam solution gives me peace of mind in terms of accident reconstruction and the safety of my drivers. I don't want anyone to get hurt because they failed to wear a seatbelt. That is a factor we can control," said De La Porte.
De La Porte observes that there are ancillary benefits of the DriveCam solution in the form of reduced maintenance costs. "Our drivers are conscious of triggering the recorder and consequently gentler on our vehicles," said De La Porte who reports that when the DriveCam solution was first introduced drivers were averaging about three saved events per vehicle per day. Today, the organization averages just 10 saved events each week across the entire fleet. "We expect to see continued reductions in vehicle maintenance costs as a result of improved driving."
"I am very happy with the DriveCam solution," concludes De La Porte. "I think it is a wonderful product... and it has helped me increase safety across our fleet for our drivers and our patients."
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