Fleet managers today have access to unprecedented amounts of telematics data. Speed monitoring, harsh braking events, in-cab camera footage, and GPS tracking data are all variables being generated from thousands of vehicles. Telematics technology promises to revolutionize fleet safety; however, some programs struggle to deliver meaningful results.
The difference between success and failure? It’s not a matter of adding more data or technology, but maintaining focused action on the metrics that matter most.
In a recent webinar, fleet safety leaders from Tesco and Sunbelt, who manage tens of thousands of vehicles, revealed how they built industry-leading safety programs by employing telematics technology to improve outcomes. While the severity of commercial auto claims has surged 36% since 2020, and speeding continues its upward trend nationally, these fleets have achieved dramatic improvements, including success in coaching high-risk drivers, reduced claim durations, lower costs, and proactive incident prevention. Their approach centers on radical simplification—starting with just one or two behaviors and building from there.
Starting With One Telematics Metric: Speeding
“You need to accept the fact that you have to start somewhere and don't try to bite off more than you can chew,” Mark Stravens, Tesco’s Head of Driver Operations & Fleet, explained. When Tesco first implemented telematics a decade ago, its focus was on one thing: speeding. That's it. No complex scoring algorithms. No eight-point behavior matrix. Just speed.
Sara Craig, Sr. Director of Transportation, Safety and Compliance, took an identical approach at Sunbelt. “You don't have to pick the top eight behaviors. You could pick two: speed and harsh braking. Pick something manageable, but something that shows that you are continuously watching those highest risk behaviors.”
How Telematics Systems Reveal Hidden Safety Issues
But here's where the data started to tell a more compelling and surprising story. When both companies began acting on their simplified data, the number of reported incidents increased. The visibility didn't create new problems; it illuminated issues that had always existed but weren’t previously visible.
This revelation points to a deeper insight about fleet safety programs: transparency breeds trust, which enables change. Both leaders emphasized that drivers initially assume any monitoring program exists solely for discipline. The field hears “we're watching you” when leadership says, “we're protecting you.”
“What we think the field is going to hear and what they actually hear are two different things,” Sara noted. “You have to keep repeating the message: this is a safe driving program. Our only goal is to coach you into safe driving behavior.”
Using Telematics Data to Build Driver Safety Programs
Successful telematics programs require more than just monitoring—they demand a structured framework for turning insights into action. The panelists emphasized that alignment across operations, human resources, finance, risk, and legal departments is critical. Martyn Denney, UK Head of Innovation and Investments from Aon, noted that fragmented approaches fail when incidents occur, but “the best safety programs I see generally have all those stakeholders aligned.”
The key is letting baseline data guide program design rather than imposing arbitrary standards. Sara described how Sunbelt analyzed their initial telematics data and discovered that an 85-mph threshold would only flag less than one percent of drivers. This data-driven approach led them to set realistic initial thresholds, then systematically tighten them as behavior improved.
Both fleets implemented amnesty periods, giving drivers time to adapt before enforcement began. This transparent approach built trust and allowed coaching to take precedence over discipline. The results speak for themselves: Tesco’s driver development program achieved a success rate of over 90% in coaching high-risk drivers back to safe thresholds. They evolved their operation from reactive incident response to proactive risk identification, using telematics to coach drivers before problems occur.
This documented progression matters enormously for insurance relationships. Insurers want evidence that fleets actively use telematics data, not just collect it. When fleets present their programs to insurers annually, they can demonstrate a clear cause-and-effect relationship showing specific interventions are tied to measurable safety improvements over time. That documented journey of continuous improvement—complete with coaching records, threshold adjustments, and behavior trends—is what transforms telematics data from a liability into a powerful negotiating tool for better rates and coverage.
Telematics Systems and Legal Defensibility for Fleet Safety
Jim Angel, SambaSafety’s Telematics Safety Advisor, highlighted why this documented journey matters beyond internal metrics. It’s legal defensibility. “Plaintiff attorneys notoriously wait a year and a half to three years after the accident, betting on the fact that you don't have the information anymore,” he warned. Every coaching session, every threshold adjustment, and every policy update needs documentation.
Yet despite these success stories, a gap persists between fleets and insurers. Only 30% of fleets share their telematics data with their insurers, despite both parties expressing interest in utilizing it. The friction point? Fleets often lack clarity on what insurers want to see, and insurers lack confidence that fleets are actually using the data they collect.
Martyn's advice is simple. Focus on patterns and trends, not granular data points. “Human nature will look at a hundred data points and immediately gravitate to the two that are in red, not the ninety-eight that are in green.” Build a narrative around improvement rather than presenting raw numbers.
The Future of Telematics for Driver Safety: Simplicity Wins
Ultimately, the main driver of modern fleet safety is resistance to unnecessary complexity. Mark and Sara illustrate that documented, incremental improvement—rooted in focused, transparent practice—is what creates cultural and operational transformation, resonating with insurers and operators alike.
Martyn reinforced this approach from the broker perspective, advising fleets to focus on demonstrating incremental progress rather than overwhelming insurers with granular data. Those small wins tell a more compelling story than terabytes of raw telematics data feeds. When fleets demonstrate leadership commitment through consistent policy application and continuous improvement, carriers respond with more favorable terms.
“The key is taking action on the data,” Sara concluded. The panelists' experiences show that the most effective telematics programs are built not on the largest data sets, but on focused action, transparent communication, and iterative evolution. Start with one behavior. Document progress. Consistently celebrate improvement. True excellence comes from programs that change behavior and reliably improve safety.
