SmartDrive Systems, a provider of video-based safety and transportation intelligence, announced that specialized flatbed Leavitt’s Freight Service has achieved significant results with the SmartDrive program in the first 12 months of full deployment.

Leavitt’s outfitted its fleet with both SmartDrive 360 and Extended Recording to identify and capture high-risk driving maneuvers and enable more effective coaching to improve safety and operational efficiency. As a result of adopting the SmartDrive program, the company says, Leavitt’s experienced: 

• 88% improvement in its SmartDrive Safety Score. 

• 10% improvement in preventable crash rate per million miles driven. 

• 11 driver exonerations. 

• Lowest annual loss ratio in company history. 

“SmartDrive has further ingrained safety into our company culture and the results have validated it,” stated Billy Dover, senior risk manager at Leavitt’s. “Prior to SmartDrive, we were paying out on claims where we knew we should have been exonerated. During the past 12 months, our loss ratio has been roughly 11%, as compared to 55% over the prior four years — this is phenomenal.” 

Part of Central Oregon Truck Company, a Daseke Inc. operating company, Leavitt’s flatbed trailers transport utility poles and other long loads. Founded in 1958, the company serves customers across the continental U.S. and most Canadian provinces. The decision to adopt video-based safety was driven by Leavitt’s philosophy that driver safety is paramount.  

Leavitt’s selection process included a pilot phase in which the SmartDrive program was evaluated head-to-head with another provider’s offering. Company leadership ultimately valued the SmartDrive team’s technology platform, attention to detail, and award-winning customer support that went beyond the initial pilot and into installation and deployment, according to the fleet.   

“We quickly came to appreciate SmartDrive 360 with Extended Recording as it captured incidents other providers did not. As a result, we’ve already seen a decrease in our preventable crash frequency per million miles,” Dover added. “The SmartDrive platform has proven invaluable to pinpointing driving behavior deficiencies, which allows us to constructively coach our drivers and support ongoing safety improvement. We coach 100% of coachable events daily, and the SmartDrive coaching workflow makes it easy, even when drivers are on the road.” 

SmartDrive 360 allows fleets to trigger up to four cameras simultaneously for maximum insight to risk. The Extended Recording option offers even more protection, and is ideal for low-impact collisions, compliance and security incidents.  

“Long-load carriers have their own set of unique safety challenges, which makes it even more important for fleet managers to understand what drivers are encountering on the road in order to reduce incidents and costs,” said Steve Mitgang, SmartDrive CEO. “Leavitt’s is a pioneer within the trucking industry, and we are honored to provide an extra level of protection to the fleet’s drivers, which is already improving its bottom line.”  

The Leavitt’s team also cited the value of the SmartDrive managed service as an important factor in its decision. The managed service alleviates the heavy lifting for the fleet, ensuring safety managers are focusing on the highest-priority events and serving up tangible evidence to coach drivers and help them improve.   

“All the telematics in the world do you no good until you can show a driver what he or she is doing is wrong. Our results have proven hugely beneficial,” Dover noted. “SmartDrive is an essential tool. Fleets that don’t have it are missing an opportunity to protect their drivers and the motoring public.”