What We Learnt From the 2021 NTI Major Accident Report

Every year, we gather more data that teaches us how to make our roads a safer place. If we can better understand what is causing accidents, we can better protect our drivers. This is why large-scale studies such as the 2021 NTI Major Accident Report are so crucial.

 

Review the summary of findings below:

"1. Likely as a result of Covid-19, the overall result of large loss (>$50k) crashes involving heavy vehicles declined in 2020


2. Fatigue crashes continue their long-term decline with the lowest ever proportion of large losses caused by fatigue

 3. Inappropriate Speed & Driver Error Crashes continue to be a serious concern with 54.5% of all large loss crashes in 2020 caused by these two factors


 4. After a tragic increase in 2019, truck occupant crash deaths dropped to a level slightly below the long term averages, with 31 truck occupants (and 1 bus occupant) losing their lives in 2020


5. Inattention/Distraction crashes continued to increase, 15.4% of large loss crashes were attributed to this, making it the cause of more large losses than fatigue and mechanical failure combined


6. Inadequate Following Distance caused nearly one in ten (9.3%) of large losses, with 96.2% of these incidents involving nose to tail crashes with other vehicles


7. Consistent with previous years, in nearly 8 out of 10 (78.3%) fatal crashes involving a truck and a car, the car was at fault


 

The major causes of these accidents can be broken down as follows:

Inappropriate Speed – 13.8%

Driver Error – 40.6%

If you break down the sub-causes in this sector, the top five causes of loss would be:

  • Inattention/Distraction (Driver Error) – 15.4%

  • Inappropriate Speed - 13.8%

  • Not-at-fault - 13.5%

  • Inappropriate Vehicle Positioning (Driver Error) – 9.7%

  • Inadequate Following Distance (Driver Error) – 9.3%

  • Fatigue – 8%


 

When it comes to looking at truck occupant deaths in 2020, fatigue was the largest cause at 60%, inattention/distraction at 20% and inappropriate speed make up the balance.” – NTI Major Accident Investigation 202

To read the entire report, click here.

 

The Importance of Driver Monitoring Systems for Road Safety

The insights that reports such as these provide are incredibly valuable. However, some businesses may be left wondering, what is the next step? How can I make practical changes to reduce risk for my employees?

The answer is to compliment your managerial controls (i.e. training, policy and cultural influences) by harnessing technological advances like Guardian by Seeing Machine’s driver monitoring system and other AI based safety technologies.

As we read above, the leading causes of accidents in 2021 were fatigue, speeding and driver error (including inattention or distraction, inappropriate vehicle positioning, and inadequate following distance). Guardian By Seeing Machines utilises AI technology to monitor the behaviours of the driver and other AI camera-based systems can monitor the surrounding environment, to immediately alert drivers of risks before an accident can take place.

For example, Seeing Machine’s face and eye-tracking technologies can detect if a driver is experiencing fatigue and immediately trigger audible alerts and seat vibrations. Alerting the driver to their fatigue could be a lifesaver in this moment.

One of the early adopters of this technology was the transportation and logistics company, Toll. Since introducing the driver monitoring systems, David McGregor, the National Contractor Manager for Linehaul, has reported a “…significant reduction in fatigue-related serious safety incidents.”

Ultimately, throughout the logistics and transport industries, it is now considered irresponsible to not look into driver monitoring systems. We hope that as more companies continue to invest in their drivers’ safety, we will see the statistics from the NTI Major Accident Report continue to fall.

 

Contact Connect Source to Help Improve Road Safety

Connect Source supply driver monitoring systems, such as Guardian By Seeing Machines, and Camera/Advanced-Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to businesses across Australia. Get in contact with our team to learn more.

Also, check out further reviews for Guardian By Seeing Machines below:

 

Darren Wood GM - Ron Finemore: Guardian technology has proved extremely reliable, accurate… and we have been able to revise operational practice as risk mitigation. It continues to be a very valuable tool in our day to day business.

Mike Lean CEO – Wettenhalls: I could not contemplate operating a heavy vehicle fleet today without Guardian.

Mike Mulligan National HSE Manager – Qube: No Qube truck fitted with a Guardian has had a fatigue or distraction rollover incident.

Geoffrey Taylor Regional Health Safety Environment & Training Manager – Rivet Mining Services: Guardian has had a significant impact within the Rivet Mining Services business...the data has assisted us better understand and address our high-risk locations and times of day/shift.

Mark Tobin CEO - Followmont Transport: Once I saw what the product could do, I walked into the business and said, ‘we’ve got six weeks to get an order and get them into the trucks’.