How Redwey Transport dropped to zero at-fault accidents with Verizon Connect fleet management

Stout Van Wey faced a stark threat to his family's business with expensive at-fault claims. The aggregate hauling company he proudly represented as a fourth-generation family member was at a crossroads.

"You're thinking, ‘Do I even want to be in this industry anymore?’," said Van Wey, Operations Manager and partner at the Johnstown, Ohio company. "Do I want to risk the safety of not only my employees, but the people on the road?"

For 35 years, Redwey Transport built its reputation hauling limestone, gravel and salt for major projects in Central Ohio. But an excellent track record was no longer sufficient for the company to survive, let alone thrive, amid these challenges. Redwey urgently needed better visibility into what was happening on the road.

Lack of visibility into road safety incidents threatens fourth-generation family business 

Each day, Redwey Transport coordinated dozens of deliveries across Central Ohio's busiest construction zones, without any way to know what their drivers were facing on the road. The company could only react after problems occurred, such as accidents, customer complaints, or costs threatening to spiral out of control.

Accident reports shed light on what happened after the fact. "We were having safety issues. A lot of speeding, a lot of accidents," said Randy Mayberry, Operations Manager and partner at Redwey Transport. But with only these accident reports to go on, Van Wey and Mayberry could not effectively coach their drivers on how to drive more safely. 

Maintaining the status quo wasn’t financially viable, either. "Our insurance costs were rising drastically. I mean, doubling, tripling—it was crazy," Mayberry said. The company faced potential annual premium increases of 30% to 40%, a trajectory that could sink the family business.

Compounding the problem, Redwey also had no way to defend its drivers when they were not at fault. "We had no proof to take to the court and say, ‘Hey, we are doing the right things,’" Van Wey said.

Back at headquarters, Controller Jennifer Kochis pored through handwritten daily reports to calculate payroll. “We were going paper by paper, adding hours up individually from the drivers' daily reports,” she said. Not only was this process time-consuming, but there was no way to verify that drivers were actually working during the hours they submitted.

Redwey Transport keeps its eyes on the road with Verizon Connect

Redwey Transport began looking for a fleet management solution to address the safety crisis and alleviate operational roadblocks. "We had to do something to get things under control," said Mayberry. The answer arrived in his inbox as a Verizon Connect email. “I went over to Jeff's office—he's our IT person here—and said, ‘Jeff, we ought to look into this.' We looked into it and found we couldn't do without it, really," he added. 

After Redwey’s leadership gave Mayberry the green light, the firm's mechanics quickly equipped all their dump trucks and tractor-trailers with dual-facing artificial intelligence (AI) dashcams. Installation took only about 20 minutes per truck. With cameras facing out to the road and in towards the cab, management could now see for themselves what was actually happening when their trucks were out on deliveries. 

With the AI-driven Operational Insights feature, Mayberry and Van Wey can now quickly access updates directly in the Verizon Connect platform, rather than having staff spend hours combing through spreadsheets. “The operational insights feature is huge,” Van Wey said. “It's like a newspaper. You get to see the highlights of the day or the lowlights of the day. You see where someone did an excellent job cutting down their idle time and reducing their speed,” he added.

And with geofencing set up at the yard, Redwey was able to automate time tracking as trucks came in and out. As a result, Kochis no longer has to manually tabulate time logs to run payroll each week. “I pull the weekly timesheet report, and that's how we pay them,” she said. “I would not be okay if I lost Verizon Connect,” she added.

Redwey Transport improves safety and drops to zero at-fault accidents in one year

In 2024, Redwey Transport achieved what seemed impossible a year earlier: zero at-fault accidents and zero insurance claims.

Although drivers were initially apprehensive about the cameras, they soon discovered the benefits of having guidance on how to drive more safely. "At first, the drivers weren't very keen on having that driver-facing camera," Van Wey said. "But we just wanted to prove the guys are doing the right thing and staying safe."

To demonstrate the importance of safety, Redwey created a new safety manager position and launched a safety bonus program that paid drivers for staying within specific speed parameters and avoiding harsh driving events. Safety Manager Mark Wilson reviewed incidents each Friday and used the data to coach drivers on safer practices. And because Wilson was also a driver, he was seen as one of the team. Many drivers began taking home meaningful bonuses, just for following the rules.

At first, "It was shocking to see what was actually going on out on the road," said Van Wey. "Guys were speeding a few times a day. Now speeding events are a small fraction of what they were now." 

When incidents did occur, video footage consistently exonerated Redwey's drivers. The company even caught other motorists trying to bait trucks into collisions—attempts that would have succeeded without cameras. "Now we have drivers calling us when they see something on the road, asking us to pull the video and say, 'Hey, that's not right,'" Van Wey added.

Insurance costs stabilized, significantly easing financial concerns. Safer driving also cut tire costs by thousands each year as drivers reduced harsh braking. Even these modest improvements have made a signifigant impact.  

Redwey has also used Verizon Connect to strengthen its customer relationships. The company now shares data from the Operational Insights platform with its partners, providing visibility into quarry wait times and loading efficiency. "Being relied on by one of the largest aggregate suppliers in the world for the data we have from Verizon Connect is awesome. It’s huge for us," Van Wey said. "It sets us apart and lets them know we're here for the long run."

Modern fleet management paves the way for further safety and operational enhancements 

Redwey Transport continues to explore new ways to leverage its Verizon Connect platform. The team is considering AI-powered in-cab alerts that immediately notify drivers when they exceed speed limits, further reducing the delay between incident and coaching.

“Our goal is to be the most technologically advanced dump truck company as well as the safest dump truck company, and Verizon Connect is very much helping us be exactly that,” - Stout Van Wey, Redwey Transport, Operations Manager.