Prevention

Accidents?
Reckless driving? Unforeseen circumstances? Non-familiar territories?
Whatever the reason, the road like life puts us in situations where
we are forced to act and react in particular ways. Our past
experiences and education not only shape our perception of the world,
biases and emotional tendencies, but lately, our driving habits are
also part of that perception. This is the psychology of driving.

For
fleets, understanding this psychology is part of the responsibility
that comes with the security administration. The decisions that
drivers make behind the wheel can reveal great things about who the
driver is as an individual. More clearly, the decisions that drivers
make are part of their driving records and, therefore, the level of
risk to which they are exposed. Some main types of driver
personalities, just as the behavior of drivers can change from day to
day and it depends on the situation, but there are some general
styles.

The
distracted driver. This driver easily reiterates his eyes from the
road while driving and is often caught daydreaming, looks at his
phone, constantly changes the radius, reaches objects, performs
multiple tasks, etc. These drivers pose the greatest threat on the
road and have twice the risk of collision. Solution is drivers who
are easily distracted should make a conscious effort to reduce the
number of distractions within the vehicle. Simply reducing your speed
will not be enough.

The
rushed driver.This driver frequently exceeds speed limits, changes
lanes and shuts down others in an effort to get there as fast as
possible. This is an aggressive driving style that can have abrupt
and dangerous consequences, such as a possible collision, license
suspension, vehicle embargoes, fines and more, depending on the
jurisdiction and severity of the failure.Solution is driver
everything is about time management. Take the time to go from point A
to point B. This reduces stress on the road as it also reduces the
likelihood of an accident.

The
emotional driver.This driver lets anger, nerves, sadness or other
emotions make rational decisions, and ends up sacrificing everyone’s
safety. Drivers with the syndrome of “rage on the road” can
fall into aggressive driving, which can lead to additional problems
when initiating confrontations with other drivers. On the other hand,
nervous drivers tend to be undecided in their decision making, often
using their brakes too much and are likely to drive below the speed
limit. Solution: Remind drivers to be aware and pay attention if they
are becoming very emotional while driving. The driving habits of
people are likely to change when they are angry, stressed or
otherwise. When this happens please take a deep breath, self-test and
stop if necessary.

The
New Driver. Normally this driver is young and usually relies too much
on his skills or fears being on the road. None is safe. A study
conducted by B. Reimer, B. Donmez, M. Lavallière, B. Mehler, JF
Coughlin, and N. Teasdale who examined driving patterns of people in
their 20s, 40s and 60s, found that in the 20s and 40s are more likely
to invade the left line, while older drivers demonstrated more
conservative driving habits. New drivers should make long trips with
veteran drivers as well as veteran drivers should make trips with new
drivers as supervisors. In this way the new drivers have specialized
supervision, training and tips to be safer drivers of fleets.

The
driver fatigued. This driver is mostly a long-distance truck driver
trying to stay awake and alert during the night. A study carried out
by International Road Transport (IRU) determined that 19% of single
truck accidents are caused in part by drowsiness. Another study found
that long-distance drivers are more likely to experience severe
drowsiness during their first night shift. Fleet managers should be
aware of drivers trying to push their limits and implement measures
to ensure they are vigilant during night shifts. Creating calculated
stops in your itinerary is also necessary. Promoting safe driving
habits among your employees can reduce the risk of accidents, costs
and also headaches. Avoid stereotypes while driving. A topic not
usually mentioned when it comes to driver behavior and training is to
discourage the use of stereotypes when making decisions behind the
wheel. Extending the issue, when a quick decision has to be made, it
is likely that we will take into account the psychological attributes
of the other driver in our decision making. In this regard, it
becomes very important to monitor the behavior of drivers using a
reliable, scalable and secure telematics solution.