Driver monitoring

Driver monitoring programs have grown in popularity in recent years both among parents of young teen drivers as well as the owners of commercial vehicle fleets. These programs range from independently-operated driver monitoring services to in-house monitoring or feedback systems that may be as simple as a toll-free telephone number posed on a sticker on the back of a truck. The goal of driver monitoring is simple: to reduce accidents, injuries, and deaths due to collisions on our roads and highways, and to reduce insurance premiums for operators of large commercial fleets by making their drivers more accountable for the road manners.

Teen driver monitoring

Growing concerns among parents of teen drivers have prompted several companies to begin offering teen driver monitoring systems. These driver monitoring programs generally involve the use of a sticker which is placed on the family vehicles which prompt drivers to call a toll free telephone number of they happen to see the car being driven in an unsafe manner. Usually these stickers also have a unique 3 to 5 digit "driver code" so that the owner of the vehicle can be identified and be made aware of the aggressive driving incident.

When a concerned driver calls in to report an incident, they may be greeted by a telephone representative or by an automated reporting system. The technology providing the back-end functionality of these services varies greatly. Automated services may be more convenient, but are likely prone to more "false" reports where other teens report their peers as a practical joke, etc. For obvious reasons, most services allow the person filing the report to remain anonymous.

While the intent of such programs is obvious, there are no reliable statistics as of yet to determine their effectiveness in reducing aggressive driving incidents among teen drivers, or the likelihood of an anonymous driver actually filing a report even in the event that they witness unsafe teen driving and realize from the sticker how to report it. Parents may also have problems convincing their teens that a driver monitoring program is a good idea as the teen driver feels that he or she has lost the trust and respect of their parents. To encourage teen driver participation, parents may want to reward their teen drivers with additional driving privileges in the event that they are not ever reported for unsafe driving over the course of several months, etc.

Commercial driver monitoring

Commercial driver monitoring programs are both better known and more common. Most programs are very simple - a toll free telephone number is listed on a sticker or sign on each vehicle in a commercial fleet, thereby allowing drivers to report and aggressive or unsafe driving they witness. In theory, the drivers of the vehicles are aware that they are being "watched" at all times, and will be more conscious of their driving decisions.

For fleet owners, it offers a small token of public accountability for their drivers, may offer insurance premium reduction sin the long run if it helps reduce accidents, and of course, offers feedback as to how their capital assets (equipment, trucks, cars, etc.) is being used by their drivers.

Due to the low cost to generally implement an internal driver monitoring program, the benefits would seem obvious.