Rental companies and auto insurers already use telematics to provide incentives for safe driving habits based on information from in-vehicle monitoring devices that gather data from onboard GPS and diagnostics systems. Telematics that improve vehicle operation include information on speed, braking patterns, seatbelt use and acceleration. And now, Kerman’s team at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) uses the stream of data generated by city vehicles to produce some of the most effective municipal fleet safety results in the country.
In February of this year, Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order requiring the use of telematics to improve the operation of fleets run by the city or its contractors to enhance employee and resident safety. NYC already had a local law requiring their use on school buses.
Kerman set up a command center for real-time tracking for the more than 29,000 city vehicles, including 10,000 school buses. Drivers going 25 miles above the speed limit receive an email, as does their supervisor. Officials chose this speed threshold because its goal was to identify those behaviors that created a clear danger and liability. These notices have reduced excessive speeding in city vehicles by 70 percent. An emergency-specific exception allows the monitors to exclude ambulance and fire equipment when emergency lights have been activated. And while the Police Department has its own tracking, other commissioners with city vehicles receive a monthly report on safety indicators, which includes hard breaking and seatbelt use. These reports include a list of the high- and moderate-risk drivers, including those who show up more than once.
In all these areas, ensuring safety means focusing on outliers, like those operators with excessive speeding issues or a person slamming on their brakes frequently. “We track the 95th percentile range for g-force events for any type of vehicle. And if you are above the 95 percent, we counsel you on your usage,” Kerman said.
Kerman and Adams also see success beyond the sharp decline in speeding. Seatbelt use is improving; there were fewer than 10 high-risk drivers in the whole city fleet for a month. The city also combines this data-driven effort with an extensive project, undertaken in conjunction with Volpe, to carefully fit vehicles with safety features like side underride guards and surround cameras for trucks, and the most up-to-date mirrors, driver alert systems and automatic emergency braking systems. Crashes, an important metric of injury prevention, are down 28 percent.
Few initiatives make as much investment sense as both telematics and the other safety modifications. NYC experiences almost $200 million in claims a year for crashes, not even counting financial losses due to workers’ compensation and employee lost time. And, of course, there’s the uncalculated trauma from injuries and deaths.
The financial numbers are compelling; the program data helps employees by preventing unjustified claims against them, as well as making them — and the public — safer. The significant results from the city’s initial effort, done in collaboration with Volpe, should motivate adoption across the country.
The only missing ingredient for other cities is their own Keith Kerman — a person who works with a mayor to create a mandate and then implements it quickly, comprehensively and effectively.
This story originally appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Government Technology magazine. Click here to view the full digital edition online.
