How to Manage Driver Distractions

Distracted driving is one of the most preventable causes of accidents in Australia. In fact, driver distraction statistics reveal that almost one in every five road crashes resulting in hospital attendance nationwide occurs because a driver has taken their eyes off the road. 

Businesses that manage multiple drivers across a fleet of vehicles, sites, and routes face compounded accident risks. Fortunately, Netstar’s fleet management software solutions provide operators with a number of ways to manage driver distractions and eliminate these behaviours before an incident occurs. 

 

Key Takeaways

• Common driver distractions fall into three categories: visual, manual and cognitive.
• Distracted driving affects road safety, driver wellbeing and fleet operating costs.
• Clear communication, regular breaks and driver education reduce distraction risk.
• Fleet management systems give operators visibility over driver behaviour as it happens.

 

What is Distracted Driving?

Distracted driving is the result of a driver diverting their attention away from the task of operating a vehicle. Any activity that takes a driver’s eyes off the road or hands off the wheel qualifies as a distraction, regardless of how brief.

For fleet operators, monitoring driver activity for signs of distraction is important because even a momentary lapse in concentration at highway speeds can have serious consequences for the driver, other road users and your business.

Types of Driver Distractions

• Visual distractions: Anything that takes the driver’s eyes off the road, such as looking at a screen (whether on a phone, dashboard or portable GPS), checking mirrors excessively or looking at accidents or billboards.
• Manual distractions: Anything that takes the driver’s hands off the wheel, such as eating or drinking, smoking or using a mobile phone.
• Cognitive distractions: Anything that takes the driver’s mind off the road, such as fatigue, drugs, alcohol or emotional stress. 

 

How Distracted Driving Affects Fleet Operations

The most serious consequence of distracted driving is harm, whether that be to the driver, other road users or the broader public. For fleet managers, however, the operational impact is also significant.

Vehicle damage from preventable incidents increases repair and insurance costs. Administrative time spent filing incident reports and insurance claims adds significant financial strain, as do the delayed delivery schedules and unfulfilled contractual obligations road traffic incidents can create. 

Scaled across a fleet, these costs accumulate quickly, making distraction management a priority for any business that operates its own vehicles commercially.

 

Ways to Manage Driver Distractions

Keep clear and open communications

Good communication between fleet managers and drivers reduces the number of conditions that lead to distraction. When drivers understand the route, delivery instructions and timing of their task before departure, they’ll be less likely to be distracted mid-journey by the thought or clarification of these details.

It is also important to build a workplace culture where drivers feel comfortable reporting concerns, from fatigue to vehicle faults and personal issues. Investing in psychological safety helps create an environment where your drivers can focus on the task at hand.

Encourage regular breaks

Scheduled rest stops address several points of distraction at once. Studies show fatigued drivers are slower to react in emergencies, meaning regular breaks improve concentration over long hauls. A structured rest time also removes the temptation to eat or check a phone while driving.

Maintain driver education

Ongoing driver education keeps safe habits top of mind. Training sessions that show drivers the data behind their behaviour, from speed to braking patterns and causes of distraction, are more effective than generic road safety reminders. It is equally important to recognise and reward drivers who demonstrate a consistent focus towards safe driving, encouraging all employees to adopt these standards when out on the road.

Adopt a fleet management system

Netstar’s driver management monitoring tools give fleet operators a structured way to track, measure and address distraction across their entire fleet. By using Netstar’s distracted driver detection technologies, managers gain access to data and alerts that complement the human-led strategies listed above.

 

How Does Fleet Management Software Reduce Driver Distractions?

Driver behaviour monitoring

Netstar’s AI Dash Cam is a purpose-built driver distraction detection system. It monitors both inside and outside the cabin, serving as a way of monitoring driver behaviour and fatigue.

Internally, the camera raises an alert if a driver uses a mobile phone or fails to wear their seat belt. It also identifies signs of driver fatigue, including microsleeps, and triggers an in-cabin alert before the situation escalates.

Externally, Netstar keeps other road users safe with the AI Dash Cam monitoring lane departure, following distance and erratic driving patterns. 

This level of driver distraction detection gives fleet managers an objective, data-backed view of safety risks across their fleet. 

Performance reporting

Fleet management software generates detailed reports on driver compliance and behaviour over time. These reports can be used to identify patterns and suggest where drivers could benefit from additional coaching.

Additionally, these reports are a useful source of evidence during performance reviews and can be used to demonstrate compliance with health and safety obligations. 

Detailed activity logs

Activity logs track when drivers are on the road, how long their shifts are and which routes they take. This makes it easy to confirm whether or not drivers are taking their required breaks, in addition to monitoring if they are adhering to safe driving hours. For managers who oversee large teams and vehicle fleets, automated logging removes the administrative burden of manual record-keeping and creates a safer, smarter audit trail. 

 

Reduce Driver Distractions Now

There are several effective ways to manage driver distraction, especially when operators have the right processes and technology in place.

From building open communication channels to deploying monitoring tools that identify risks as early as possible, the most effective teams take a layered approach to remove potential causes of visual, manual and cognitive distractions as early as possible.

Netstar’s fleet management solutions provide the visibility and data needed to reduce the number of incidents caused by distractions, protecting your drivers and keeping your operations running efficiently.

Contact Netstar today to learn more about our driver fatigue and distraction monitoring systems.