Analyzing Risky Behavior in Utility Fleets

Lytx analyzed and labeled more than 50 million risky driving events in 2019. By combining machine vision and artificial intelligence with professional review, the fleet technologies company was able to present a customized and accurate view of risk with greater than 95% accuracy across more than 60 risky driving behaviors.  

Lytx derived insights on the most prevalent risky behaviors and the most improved driving behaviors at the industry-level, for fleets in each industry it serves, including utility fleets. The Lytx database includes 120 billion miles of driving data and is the largest of its kind, according to the company. 

Lytx’s findings include the five risky behaviors seen most often among utilities drivers, most improved driving behaviors, and insights on how driving habits in the utilities industry compare to those in other industries. This data was captured from fleets of all sizes and types within the utilities industry, including cable and telecommunication fleets and oil- and gas-hauling vehicles.

The Top Risky Behaviors for Utility Fleets in 2019: 

• Near collision.
• Near collision (unavoidable).
• Food/drink observed.
• Following distance.
• Smoking.

Most improved driving behaviors from 2018-2019:

• Driver unbelted – improved 49%.
• Cellphone observed – improved 24%.
• Food/drink observed – improved 15%.

Lytx compared the prevalence of behaviors seen in utilities fleets against behavior averages of fleets across all its other protected industries. Comparatively, utilities fleets excelled in the following areas:

• Cellphone use, which was observed 54% less often.
• Late response, which occurred 62% less often.

While cell phone use is improving in the utilities industry, it remains a risk. Lytx found that driver distraction was present in 63% of rear-end collisions in this segment, with one-third of those attributed to cell phone use. 

These insights were derived from Lytx’s proprietary database of utilities driving data from 2019, including 202,000 risky utilities driving events captured last year. For comparisons across industries, Lytx calculated behavior averages from its global database, which contains driving data from trucking, distribution, concrete, construction, services, transit, government, and waste industries. Lytx maintains the fastest-growing proprietary database of professional driving data in the world, currently surpassing 120 billion miles of driving data. The data is anonymized, normalized, and in instances of behavior prevalence, generalizable to utilities fleets at large.  

Originally posted on Work Truck Online