Trevose, PA, January 30, 2014 – Fleets that don’t make red-light, speed, or school bus stop arm safety camera violations part of their drivers’ safety profiles are running the risk of potentially “astronomical” liability costs, says Vincent Brigidi, president and chief operating officer of The CEI Group, Inc., a provider of automotive fleet accident management and risk and safety services.
According to American Traffic Solutions (ATS) Fleet Services, a leading provider of fleet tool and violation management solutions, the number of road safety camera violations issued to fleet vehicles has soared over the last five years.
The problem for fleets is that these types of tickets are issued to the owners of the vehicles – usually the fleet or its leasing company – and not to the drivers, and so rarely appear on drivers’ Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs), Mr. Brigidi notes. Since MVRs are one of the principle tools used by fleets to identify and intervene with high-risk drivers, fleets may be unaware of drivers who represent a liability if they’re found responsible for a collision.
“Camera violations are still public record, and accessible to a plaintiff’s attorney,” Mr. Brigidi warns. If a fleet driver has a history of multiple speeding, stop arm or red-light running violations by road safety cameras “and the fleet has never taken any steps to remediate the driver’s behavior, it is exposed to the danger of being found guilty of negligent entrustment,” Mr. Brigidi adds.
Adam Draizin, president of ATS Fleet Services, notes that fleets typically pay road safet camera fines right away and then attempt to identify and collect from the driver, but it’s “a time-consumer process that is often unsuccessful.” As a result, high-risk drivers remain hidden from the fleet.
The solution is for fleets to adopt technology that matches traffic camera violations to the responsible drivers. CEI and ATS have jointly developed a solution, which is currently in beta testing. CEI expects to roll out the capability later this year as an enhancement to its DriverCare Risk Manager ™application.
Mr. Brigidi and Mr. Draizin made the remarks in an article in the December 2013 issue of Automotive Fleet magazine, titled “Strategies to Manage Fleet Violations.” For the full article, please visit http://www.automotive-fleet.com/channel/safety-accident-management/article/story/2013/12/strategies-to-manage-fleet-violations.aspx
About The CEI Group, Inc. (CEI)
CEI is a leading provider of technology-enhanced vehicle accident, driver safety and fleet risk management services. Its provider network consists of some 4,000 collision repair shops in North America, and includes nearly 900 truck collision repair centers. Its customers include self-insured, commercial, and institutional and government fleets, directly and through alliances with fleet leasing companies. CEI also provides vehicle direct repair program outsourcing to leading property and casualty insurance companies.
Founded in 1983, CEI has headquarters near Philadelphia, PA, and field sales offices in Trevose, PA, Tulsa, OK, and Lake in the Hills, IL. In 2000, CEI launched the DriverCare™ line of services, which include fleet risk management, MVR ordering and compliance, on-line and behind-the-wheel driver safety training and a safety newsletter. For more information about CEI, visit cei-network.local.
About American Traffic Solutions (ATS)
ATS is a leading provider of technology-enabled business and service solutions for road safety camera operations, rental and fleet toll processing and traffic violation management services. The company is headquartered in Tempe, AZ. For more information, visit http://www.atsol.com/.
