Fleet managers know crashes are expensive. A Fleet Forward Conference session will dig deeper into which behaviors and operational factors are driving those costs—and how one service fleet reduced its annual auto losses by 80%.

“Breaking Down Crash Costs: NETS Benchmarks and CoolSys Fleet Results” will take place Thursday, Oct. 22, from 1 to 1:45 p.m. at Fleet Forward Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

Moderated by fleet safety leader and award winner Eric Richardson, the session brings together new benchmarking research from the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) and a fleet case study from CoolSys, a national provider of refrigeration and HVAC services.

NETS Chief Strategy Officer Art Kinsman will present findings from the organization’s latest Cost of Crashes research, examining how crash costs vary according to factors such as speeding, distracted driving, seat belt use, impairment and industry segment.

The research gives fleet operators a way to look beyond broad crash-cost averages and better understand the behaviors and risks contributing to their own losses. Kinsman will also draw on NETS’ fleet safety benchmarking data to place those findings in a wider operational context.

Kinsman joined NETS in 2026 following leadership roles at AAA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Massachusetts state government. His work has included impaired-driving prevention, occupant-protection and teen-driver initiatives, as well as public-private road safety partnerships.

From Research to Fleet Results

Shawn Martinez, director of environmental health and safety at CoolSys, will then explain how the company translated safety principles into measurable fleet results.

CoolSys operates an HVAC and construction-services fleet supporting an organization of approximately 3,500 employees. By developing its operational leaders, strengthening safety systems and training employees, the company reduced annual auto loss costs by 80%.

Martinez brings more than 20 years of experience leading occupational health, safety and fleet safety programs. He is also the author of The Safety Culture Blueprint, which introduces his CORE Framework for building sustainable safety cultures through leadership, trust and continuous learning.

Together, the NETS research and CoolSys case study will give attendees both sides of the safety equation: benchmarks that identify where crash costs originate and an operating example of how a fleet acted on those risks.

“Bringing NETS’ latest crash-cost research together with a fleet that reduced its auto loss costs by 80% gives attendees both the benchmark and the real-world application,” said Chris Brown, conference chair of Fleet Forward Conference. “Shawn has also taken the unusual step of turning his experience building a safety culture into a book, giving this discussion a perspective that extends well beyond a single fleet program.”

About Fleet Forward Conference

Fleet Forward Conference will take place Oct. 20–22, 2026, in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

The event brings fleet operators and industry leaders together to explore emerging developments in safety, artificial intelligence, connected vehicles, electrification and fleet management technology.

This year’s program also includes an off-site crash test experience at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Vehicle Research Center.