The Markel High Risk Driver Program
Presented by:
Rick Geller, CRM
Director
Safety & Signature Services
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK DRIVER PROGRAM
AGENDA
･ Current Situation
･ Markel High Risk Driver Strategy
･ Identifying the Risks
･ Addressing the Risks
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Every time a carrier looks to hire a new
driver, there is a 1-in-3 chance that they
are interviewing a High-Risk Driver.
INTRODUCTION
THE CURRENT SITUATION
THE CURRENT SITUATION
High-Risk Drivers
• Consistently engage in unsafe driving
behaviour that significantly increases
the probability of crash involvement:
> speeding
> tail-gating
> running red lights
> lane hopping
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Safety Averse
• Refuse to accept responsibility for
their actions
• Delay or refuse to report
violations and crashes
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Incident-Based
• Reactive in nature – responds to crashes,
incidents, violations
• Very labour/resource intensive
• Limited options (one size fits all)
• Carrier’s response is usually dependant
on crash severity
THE CURRENT SITUATION
“Individual Differences and the High-Risk
Commercial Driver”
– Federal Motor Carriers Safety
Association Study, 2004
THE CURRENT SITUATION
• Checking the driver’s abstract was
deemed by all participants to be
most important in the hiring process
• Over-the-road evaluation was rated by
88% of participants as the second most
important the hiring process.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
• Continuous tracking of violations,
incidents, and crashes was rated as
the most important driver evaluation
practice by 99% of the participants
THE CURRENT SITUATION
• Safety Managers ranked remedial
training as seventh in importance out
of 12 elements of safety management
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Current carrier response:
• May include management interview
of driver
• May include remedial training as a
disciplinary measure
• Frequently includes termination of driver
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Post crash driver follow-up
• Focused on short-term operational
impacts
• Disregard for short- and long-term
bottom-line impact
• Lack of understanding of
preventability vs. liability
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK
DRIVER PROGRAM
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK DRIVER PROGRAM
An Informational and
Behavioural-Based Model
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK DRIVER PROGRAM
• Based on the relationship between
drivers who accumulate violations
and subsequent crash involvement
in the next 12 months.
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK DRIVER PROGRAM
Two major elements:
Measurement
• Leverage new technology,
training & information
Intervention
• Target unsafe behaviour with a
variety of progressive interventions
THE MARKEL HIGH RISK DRIVER PROGRAM
Provides the opportunity for management
intervention before the crash happens.
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Sources of Information
Driver abstracts
Violation notices
Carrier profiles
Inspection reports
EOBR devices
Customer complaints
Engine downloads Public complaints
(ECM)
Loss registers
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Major Crash Causal Factors
Human – 93%
Environmental – 34%
Equipment – 13%
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Human Crash Causal Factors
Recognition Errors – 56%
Decision Errors – 52%
Performance Errors – 11%
Critical Non-Performance – 2%
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Recognition Errors
Distractions
General Inattention
Improper Look-out
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Decision Errors
Conscious decisions to drive unsafely
Gap-judgment errors
Driving when knowingly fatigued
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
1) Driver qualification
criteria
4) Appropriate
management
2) Re-qualification
to criteria
3) Qualifies??
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
“… Poor driving behaviour, as
demonstrated by prior convictions &
involvement in crashes, increases the
risks of involvement in future crashes …”
Federal Motor Carriers Safety Association Report FMCSA-RT-05-003:
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Driver Violation Notification Report (DVN), July 2005
• Drivers with violations have crashes
at a rate 50% higher than drivers
without violations
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
• Moving violations are the best predictor
of future crash involvement.
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
Markel High-Risk Driver Strategy:
1) Identify and categorize the number
of High-Risk Drivers found in a fleet
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
2) Forecast the number and type of
High-Risk Driver related crashes in
the next 12 months, as well as the
associated costs
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
3) Quantify the impact of crashes
on a carrier’s net income by showing
the revenue required to pay for
associated costs
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
IDENTIFYING THE RISKS
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
Carriers’ Options
• Maintain the status quo and hope
for the best
• Terminate High-Risk Drivers
• Deal with specific individuals and
unique issues
• Hiring/recruiting practices
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
Goals
• Change unsafe behaviour
and reduce crashes
• Increase management options
• Implement interventions that
target unsafe behaviour
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
Importance of Identifying
High-Risk Drivers
• Crash reduction
• Insurance costs
• Staff administration time
• Operational impacts
• Human Resources costs
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
Carrier Benefits of a
High-Risk Driver Strategy
• Maximize driver resources
• Maximize safety resources
• Improve bottom-line
financial performance
• Benchmark driver selection process
• Become an “Employer of Choice”
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
“Every two miles, the average driver makes
400 observations, 40 decisions,
and one mistake.
Once every 500 miles, one of these mistakes
leads to a near-collision.
Once every 61,000 miles, one of these
mistakes leads to a crash.”
Wrong Turn: How the Fight to Make America’s Highways
Safer Went off the Rails. Malcolm Gladwell, 2001
ADDRESSING THE RISKS
“Ninety percent of the time, High-Risk
Drivers think they are very good drivers.”
Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
Conclusion
QUESTIONS?