How driver risk profiling can help prevent the next collision

Motor vehicle crashes remain one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities, averaging over 1,000 deaths per year according to recent data — most coming from heavy duty and tractor trailer trucking.¹ While driving is a dangerous part of any job, fleets can help protect everyone on the road by emphasizing safe driving behaviors and reducing risky ones. Verizon Connect’s own data shows that drivers with repeat occurrences of risky driving events such as ignoring stop signs or speeding, are almost twice as likely to be in a crash.²

With fleet management systems, fleet managers gain new visibility into driver behavior, turning predictive data analytics into driver-specific profiles. This is a whole new dimension to fleet risk management, allowing them to look through the windshield so they can quantify, anticipate and manage risk before a crash occurs.

Moving from reactive safety programs to proactive fleet risk reduction using driver risk profiles is a critical step toward protecting drivers and the communities they serve.

What is driver risk profiling?

Driver risk profiling is the safety practice of identifying patterns in driving behavior that indicate a higher likelihood of future incidents. It’s not about assigning permanent labels to drivers or reacting to one bad day behind the wheel. It’s about recognizing consistent behaviors that take place over time and understanding what those behaviors mean for safety outcomes.

In practical terms, a driver risk profile reflects trends such as:

• Repeated harsh braking or hard acceleration
• Frequent speeding or posted speed violations
• Following too closely or tailgating
• Rolling stops or traffic signal violations
• Signs of distraction, such as phone use
• Seat belt noncompliance
• The frequency and severity of safety events over time

Taken together, these patterns paint a picture of risk that’s far more useful than any single incident report. They help fleets move from broad, one-size-fits-all safety programs to more targeted approaches that address the behaviors most likely to lead to collisions.

How driver risk profiling and safety scores work

Fleet risk profiling is operationalized through safety scorecards and behavior-based analytics that continuously assess how drivers perform on the road. This is how telematics platforms reduce accident risk, among other features.

Rather than relying on manual evaluations or waiting for compliance violations to reveal problems, today’s platforms analyze driving behavior automatically and identify trends that point to elevated risk.

At Verizon Connect, this approach takes shape through driver safety scorecards that translate raw driving data into a clear, consistent view of risk. Instead of producing a single, permanent "risk score," these scorecards provide an ongoing snapshot of how a driver’s behavior is trending week by week, month by month.

Telematics-based safety scores highlight behaviors such as hard braking, harsh acceleration and hard cornering.

When AI dashcams are in use, dashcam video-based safety scores add critical context by identifying behaviors like tailgating, rolling stops, speeding, distraction and seat belt use, including the events most closely linked to future collisions.

The AI algorithm conducts a fleet driver risk assessment using these factors, categorizing them according to severity, noting frequency and distance traveled and weighing them alongside each other to develop a score for each individual driver. The safety score is a number between 0 and 100.

High collision predictors are driving behaviors such as hard braking, tailgating and posted speed exceeded. These behaviors result in a higher point reduction of the safety score, compared to lower collision predictors such as smoking.

With AI-powered predictive safety analytics, fleets can see how certain driving patterns consistently appear before serious incidents occur. Verizon Connect data shows just how predictive certain behaviors can be, per 1000 km (about 621 miles):

• More than two stop-sign violations increases crash likelihood by 260%
• More than three overspeeding events raises crash risk by 230%
• More than three phone-distraction events increases crash risk by 160%
• More than two major tailgating events raises crash likelihood by 230%²

This is why driver profiling is essential for overall fleet risk management. Not only can these profiles and associated scores point to drivers who may be at risk of crashing, they can also provide the information needed to effectively and proactively change driver behavior so they can perform at a lower risk level.

What an effective driver risk profile needs

Risk profiling isn’t effective without a few key elements that allow it to be dynamic. These include:

• Looking at trends, not snapshots: Comparing a driver’s recent performance to a longer-term driver history report, such as a 90-day average, helps distinguish between an isolated lapse and a developing risk trend.
• Time-based resets: Because it’s important for driver morale and fleet risk management to see improvement, scores themselves reset each week, giving drivers a fresh opportunity to drive safer.
• Weighing behaviors: Not all safety events carry the same predictive value. A tailgating incident is weighted more heavily than a single hard brake because of its stronger connection to future collisions.
• Ensuring accurate driver assignment: Risk insights only work when data reflects the right person behind the wheel. Making sure drivers are consistently matched to the vehicle they’re driving ensures safety trends are meaningful and actionable.
• Driver benchmarks: Determining what kind of number you want drivers to hit is essential to focusing your efforts where drivers fall short. Verizon Connect safety scores are benchmarked at 80 by default, but managers can set their own benchmarks if they choose.

When these elements work together, fleet driver risk assessments become more precise and when combined with the coaching opportunities that follow, can even help impact a fleet’s CSA score.

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The benefits of driver risk profiling

When fleets move from reactive safety management to proactive risk identification, the impact shows up across the operation.

• Targeted training instead of generic driver coaching: Instead of coaching everyone on broad safety topics, managers can focus on the behaviors that matter most for each driver. Verizon Connect refers to these as coaching opportunities — specific areas where a driver can improve to reduce future risk — and you can find them right inside a driver’s profile.
• Stronger conversations with insurers: Documented safety programs that show how fleets identify and mitigate risk can support discussions with insurance providers. Some insurers offer discounts simply for having the GPS tracking or dashcam video systems in place that support risk profiling, and others may take into consideration your preventive actions in addressing risk.
• Better legal defensibility: When an incident occurs, having a record that shows risks were identified and addressed can be critical. Driver risk profiling helps establish a defensible safety culture that shows the organization took reasonable steps to prevent harm.

Together, these outcomes turn risk profiling into broader strategy for operational resilience and even potentially cost savings.

How to talk about risk profiling with drivers

No safety program succeeds without trust. For driver risk profiling to deliver real results, it has to be transparent, fair and focused on improvement not punishment.

• Explain the purpose clearly and be transparent: Drivers should understand what data is collected, how it’s used and why it matters. Position safety scorecards as tools for coaching and protection, not surveillance.
• Validate the data: Encourage two-way conversations. When a safety event is flagged, give drivers the chance to explain what happened. In many cases, context matters — and that dialogue strengthens buy-in.
• Highlight positive performance: Risk profiling isn’t just about identifying problems. It also helps surface low-risk drivers who consistently demonstrate safe habits. Recognizing those drivers builds morale and reinforces the behaviors you want across the fleet.

Data shows why this approach matters: 80% of crashes involve drivers whose safety scores rank them in the bottom half of a fleet,² making early intervention through driver coaching one of the most effective tools fleets have for reducing serious incidents.

From insight to impact

Driver risk profiling represents a shift in how fleets think about safety, from reacting to incidents to anticipating them. By focusing on behavior patterns instead of isolated events, fleets gain a clearer view of risk and a better opportunity to change outcomes.

When paired with predictive safety analytics and practical driver coaching tools, this approach supports meaningful fleet risk reduction. It helps protect drivers, control costs and build a stronger safety culture that holds up under scrutiny.

Discover how Verizon Connect can help you bring predictive safety into everyday operations and turn driver risk profiles into a proactive strategy for preventing the next collision by booking a demo today.

Sources

¹ https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

² Aggregate Verizon Connect customer data