RapidSOS, known for its public safety tools, has signed a deal with Motive, which sells fleet management, driver compliance and related technology, to get first responder help more quickly to commercial truckers involved in accidents.
The new First Responder feature from the companies can deliver behind-the-scenes, automated alerts to police and medical personnel, with details that include the location of the vehicle, the driver’s name, make, model and license plate, according to a statement announcing the deal.
The tool also can give live updates through the Motive Dashboard and Fleet App, meaning that trucking company safety managers are potentially better informed about accidents involving their drivers.
“Being a professional truck driver is one of the most dangerous jobs in America,” Michael Martin, CEO and co-founder of RapidSOS, told Government Technology.
In fact, transportation and warehouse work resulted in 14.1 fatalities per 1,000 workers in 2022, making it the third-most dangerous profession in the U.S. after agriculture, forest, fishing and hunting, and also mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, according to the AFL-CIO.
More than 5,900 large trucks and busses were involved in fatal crashes in 2021, up 18 percent from 2020, according to the latest figures from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
While that number apparently has declined slightly since then, that still leaves more than 4,900 deaths and more than 71,000 injuries, according to another estimate.
Survival rates for those crashes, however, increase by 13 percent for “every minute that first responders arrive faster at the scene of a collision,” according to Motive, using federal data.
Those minutes can especially count in rural areas where trucks often operate, said Martin. Large states with large rural areas lead the National Safety Council’s list of fatal crashes and trucker fatalities — states such as Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota and Iowa.
Martin, in fact, recalled growing up in a rural county with only two ambulances, highlighting the challenge faced by drivers and first responders.
“It can take 10 or 20 minutes for them to get there,” he said of those rural responders, who are often members of volunteer fire departments. “Getting data to them can help with the response.”
The deal with Motive comes amid a tense time for drivers. Trade publications and law firms that represent truckers are full of stories of drivers being pushed to work harder — even amid federal restrictions on driving hours.
“Driver fatigue is the leading cause of accidents involving 18-wheelers and other commercial trucks,” claims one law firm blog, echoing complaints found throughout the industry.
Not only that, but the industry faces a shortage of drivers, which can increase the pressure on veteran workers while also putting on the road drivers with relatively little experience. That’s one reason for investments in self-driving commercial trucks, a trend that Martin says he recognizes and for which he is preparing.
For now, though, the focus is on human drivers — those workers charged with delivering the nation’s goods via high-pressure trips that span several states or even the entire continent coast to coast.
“I cannot overstate the importance of a technology that initiates rapid emergency response,” said Jared Whitson, director of safety for the Bennett Family of Companies, a trucking company, in the statement. “The preservation of life and the prevention of further injury is dependent on seconds, not minutes. This technology will set a new standard for the industry.”
