Embracing artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformational growth move for any business that needs a faster and more accurate path to product development.
At an industry level and in almost every field imaginable, "AI for good" is the convergence of the best minds and technologies gathering and sharing data to speed up innovation and solve the world’s most urgent challenges.
The most high profile example of such AI for good is the massive, international effort that is driving Covid-19 drug discovery and vaccine development in record time. Improving and saving lives is the cornerstone of AI for good and, like any movement, AI is thankfully sweeping across the automotive industry at an inspired pace to help solve the worrisome rise in distracted driving roadway fatalities. Drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians all stand to benefit.
When it comes to driving, commercial fleet vehicles and drivers log more miles than anyone else, and these are not leisure miles. Fleets drive a disproportionate number of urban miles, which are the most complex, highest-risk roads where fatalities take place.
Despite advancements, road safety continues to be a major issue. A fleet accident typically costs $16,500 in damages and $57,500 in injury related costs for a total of $74,000. This does not include a broad range of hidden costs including legal fees, insurance increases, lost employee and vehicle time, negative publicity and dampened morale. Collisions and fatalities continue to grow. According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle deaths in 2020 were estimated to be the highest in 13 years, despite high drops in miles driven with losses running into the tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars.
Yet, for decades, the fleet industry’s efforts to meaningfully lower risk and avoid collisions have been stifled by a limited ability to identify, quantify and therefore mitigate the most critical driving risks in real-time. Historically, fleet operators have managed safety risks with training programs, manual coaching sessions and manager ride-alongs with drivers.
