SmartDrive Announces 5x Growth Over Prior Three Years, Proves Video Safety with Actionable Intelligence is the "Must Have" Investment for Fleets

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDrive Systems, a leader in driving performance solutions that reduce collisions and improve fuel efficiency, today announced business results and operating highlights for its revised fiscal year reporting period now ended December 31, 2016. The company continues to grow rapidly, reporting organic growth of 94 percent year-over-year and nearly 400 percent over three years. The company's Transportation Intelligence Suite, market leading usability, ongoing platform expansion and unmatched customer satisfaction were the key growth drivers. 

The company notes that newer entrants—such as telematics systems upselling "add-on" cameras or dashcams— are trying to gain a foothold in the market with low cost, no-review services. However, fleets adopting video remain focused on maximizing their return on investment by selecting full-service programs that proactively identify risk, improve driver performance and save their teams' time versus requiring them to hire more headcount to become video reviewers. Management KPIs, prescriptive analytics and actionable fleet intelligence delivered through a managed service are the key decision criteria for carriers purchasing a video analytics platform because these capabilities help deliver the most protection, most immediate insight and fastest payback.  

"As we look at the company growth rate over the last three years, it is clear that fleets are saying 'good enough is not enough,' first by investing in video safety and then by selecting SmartDrive's proactive programmatic approach that brings a new level of transportation intelligence to fleet safety and operations," stated Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. "What gives us the greatest satisfaction is knowing how many drivers avoided collisions that didn't have to happen, how many lives were saved as a result, and how many drivers' jobs were protected based on clear and accurate information about what occurred on the road. Our customers are commercial transportation innovators, proving that safety is good for business."

Operating and Company Highlights:

• Recorded 94 percent organic subscription growth year-over-year; nearly 400 percent over the prior three years
• Grew the customer base by adding leading fleets across a variety of industry categories, with new additions in the second half of the year that included:
  • TMC Transportation, Interstate Distributor Co., Alabama Motor Express, BCP Transportation, Boyle Transportation Countywide of Miami, K-Limited Carrier, Heyl Truck Lines, McElroy Truck Lines, National Carriers, WEL Companies and WTI Transport
  • Cincinnati Bell Connector, a Transdev customer, to the growing roster of rail clients

Retained over 98 percent of contracted units

Impact to Customers

• Improved fleet safety in the first year of deployment across a broad spectrum of risk areas, including those measured by CSA:
  • Texting – 73.1 percent reduction in commercial; 55.4 percent reduction in transit
  • Distraction – 63.2 percent reduction in commercial; 58.3 percent reduction in transit
  • Fatigue – 67.2 percent reduction in commercial; 40.4 percent reduction in transit
  • Speeding – 70.1 percent reduction in commercial; 65.6 percent reduction in transit
  • Seatbelt compliance – 71.5 percent improvement in commercial ; 75.3 percent improvement in transit
• Helped fleets reduce collisions through proactive intervention and exonerate drivers when not at fault:
  • Commercial: Captured 19.4 near-collisions and 6.3 collisions (per million miles)
  • Transit: Captured 35.9 near-collisions and 10.2 collisions (per million miles)

 Strategic Initiatives and Product Innovation

• Enhanced pioneering video-analytics platform and safety program with first-of-their-kind enhancements to video capture and delivery, video coaching process, custom policy configurations and driver performance analytics
• Introduced SmartIQ® Segmentation, an expansion of its Transportation Intelligence Suite, enabling fleets to target optimization strategies based on relevant and predictive performance differences across driver and vehicle segments
• Announced SmartDrive SmartIQ Beat Blog & Snapshots, delivering industry insights, analysis and metrics derived from the company's database of over 180 million analyzed risky-driving events
  • Inaugural analysis found that collision drivers have:
    • 26.7 percent poorer safety scores as compared to non-collision drivers
    • 7.5 percent lower MPG than non-collision drivers
    • Two times higher near-collision rates
    • More distracted incidents across all categories

Awards and Recognition

• Ranked for the third consecutive year as one of the fastest growing companies in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™
• Received the Brake Fleet Safety Product – In-Vehicle Technology award
• Received the Business Intelligence Group's BIG Award for Business and the SmartIQ Transportation Intelligence Suite was named 2016 New Product of the Year
• Named a Freight Transport Association Van Excellence Recognized Partner in the United Kingdom
• Named for the second year in a row among the "Best Places to Work" by the San Diego Business Journal

Customer Comments in the News

"I can't say enough about the value of the SmartDrive solution. Since our rollout, SmartDrive has helped us completely transform our driver coaching program, resulting in significantly better driver retention rates and measurably improved safety scores," stated Brittany Britt, director of safety and personnel at Davis Transfer.

"Within a week of deployment on the Cincinnati Bell Connector, we clearly saw the benefit of video safety for rail," noted Ken Westbrook, president of Transdev's Rail Division. "Having already experienced firsthand the positive impact SmartDrive has had on our bus lines, we predicted great things with the streetcar rollout and SmartDrive didn't disappoint. We look forward to introducing the solution to our rail customers."

"Our drivers are the heart of our company and they are essential to our success. We selected SmartDrive to ensure we can exonerate drivers when they're not at fault and consistently coach them for continuous improvement," commented Mackenzie Heyl Schaffert, controller at Heyl Truck Lines.

"We have been working with SmartDrive since 2009 and continue to generate excellent value from its video-based program. It has become an integral part of our day-to-day operations. The SmartDrive program continues to be a necessary component of our fleet management strategy, helping to ensure that our drivers are operating safely and efficiently on the road and that we are doing all we can to minimize our total cost of risk," stated Steve White, head of fleet at Reynolds Catering Supplies Limited.

About SmartDrive Systems

SmartDrive Systems, the recipient of Frost & Sullivan's Customer Value Leadership Award for Video Safety Solutions, gives fleets and drivers unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives. Its video analysis, predictive analytics and personalized performance program help fleets improve driving skills, lower operating costs and deliver significant ROI. With an easy-to-use managed service, fleets and drivers can access and self-manage driving performance anytime, anywhere. The company, which is ranked as one of the fastest growing companies by Deloitte's Technology Fast 500™, has compiled the world's largest storehouse of more than 180 million analyzed risky-driving events. SmartDrive Systems is based in San Diego, Calif., and employs over 500 people worldwide.

For more information on SmartDrive Systems, please visit www.smartdrive.net. 

Contact or Follow SmartDrive at:
Email - [email protected] 
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/smartdrivesystemsinc 
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/smartdriveinc 
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/smartdrivesystemsinc 
LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/company/smartdrive-systems 

SOURCE SmartDrive Systems

Related Links

http://www.smartdrive.net