The open road is always full of surprises…and when the surprise is a deer leaping into your windshield, the consequences are more than an inconvenience. This can be a five-figure liability for your fleet.
Welcome to the final chapter of our Craziest Fleet Tracking Stories, focusing on the actual wild card: unpredictable animal encounters. These incidents serve as yet another example of how GPS Insight dash cams can help defend your fleet.
Costly Critter Collisions
Animal-vehicle collisions are incredibly common. In 2024 alone, there were 1.7 million auto insurance claims in the U.S. from animal collisions, which means drivers had a 1 in 139 chance of being involved in an animal collision. The resulting damage is severe. According to the U.S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the estimated cost for an animal-vehicle collision is over $6,000. That doesn’t even account for vehicle downtime, lost revenue, or the long-term impact on your fleet’s insurance premiums.
Driver Exoneration vs. Liability
Picture one of your drivers driving down the highway at dusk, and without warning, a deer runs in front of him, and he can’t avoid hitting it. The driver would immediately report the incident, but the damage is done.
If the driver had to brake hard and swerve a little, the initial insurance report wouldn’t look good. The adjuster may even suggest the driver failed to maintain control or was possibly traveling too fast for the conditions. Not only would you have to deal with a repair bill, but potential liability costs.
But! With GPS Insight dash cams and analytics, you can see the forward-facing video and cross-reference it with the data. The video would show the deer leaping into his path, providing proof that the driver had no time to react. The data would also confirm that the driver was not exceeding the speed limit. As a result, GPS Insight would protect the driver’s record as well as the fleet from a liability hit and corresponding insurance rate increase. Scoreboard reads: GPS Insight 1, Deer 0!
See Dash Cam Footage in Action: How Video Evidence Saved Three Companies (and Their Bottom Lines)
Mystery Damages with No Evidence
Suppose a driver returned with minor but noticeable damage – a cracked side-view mirror and a scrape along the passenger door. When asked about it, he explains that a dog ran into the street, and he had to act quickly to miss it…but instead he glanced a concrete wall. Without video proof, it would be a difficult story to believe.
GPS Insight gives you another option. You can review the side-view and forward-facing dash cam footage. The video would definitely show the dog’s role in the incident. The clear, time-stamped footage would get rid of all doubt and prove what caused the damage. Basically, camera coverage protects drivers and businesses.
Improving Driver Behavior and Awareness
What about driver behavior? With GPS Insight, your tools also record if there’s a harsh braking event. With these tools, you wouldn’t even have to ask the driver to remember what happened. You could pair the report with the associated video clip from our system – all automatic – no need to comb through hours of video. In this harsh braking incident, you would see a driver was avoiding a fox that ran into the road. More importantly, the video would show context that although he did brake hard, he didn’t lose control or cause problems for other vehicles.
This event would be considered defensive driving success instead of a fault. You could even use this clip as a coaching moment for other drivers. This capability allows the fleet to improve driver safety culture using real-world events, turning potential liabilities into training tools.
Take Control of the Wild Side
You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document and defend your business. Don’t let a crazy incident put your fleet’s safety at risk. GPS Insight has the tools to protect you from the wild events out there – whether caused by humans or animals.
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Pro tip: You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document and defend your business. Don’t let a crazy incident put your fleet’s safety at risk. GPS Insight has the tools to protect you from the wild events out there – whether caused by humans or animals.
Key Takeaways
- You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document a
- You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document a
- You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document a
- You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document a
- You can’t actually control unexpected events on the road, but you can control your ability to document a
