Overhaul has launched TruckShield, a risk-management technology solution for North American motor carriers. TruckShield offers a low-cost solution to customers that uses existing motor-carrier fleet hardware to identify dangerous or illegal driving practices in real time and implement corrective actions to avoid costly situations that can develop due to accidents.
In addition to identifying and correcting costly behavior, TruckShield also defends against predatory legal practices in the event of an accident, digitizes and centralizes insurance, maintenance, and safety management, and builds a data profile to showcase safety culture to insurers.
Three key features of TruckShield include:
- Protection: Protects companies from the fallout of poor driver behavior, theft, and other events that were previously beyond their control. With a simple app download, they gain full visibility into what’s happening across their fleet without having to install any hardware, while identifying and correcting safety risks like hazardous driving and theft.
- Management: Manages critical documents related to insurance, maintenance, and safety in one centralized digital location, enabling administrative tasks such as filing a claim to be accomplished with a simple click.
- Improvement: Demonstrating a safety culture that will bolster confidence with insurers, motor carriers can maintain complete records of driver coaching, maintenance performed, and claims made to expedite insurance renewals, while premium increases.
“[Our relationship with insurance providers] is a partnership on both sides of the insurance table, and we all want safe and claims-free behavior,” said Barry Conlon, CEO and founder of Overhaul. “‘Trust but verify’ keeps everyone honest, with the added step of rewarding those who are walking the walk. Getting credit for safety investments such as cameras has been challenging for a fleet to prove, and these investments make a real difference when it comes to safety. The Overhaul visibility platform provides proof that is irrefutable as it is empirical and visible to both sides.”
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s safety blitz, International Roadcheck, from May 4-6, spent the last year focusing on safety and unsafe driver behaviors. According to Conlon, Truckshield can help prepare drivers for the inspection season.
“The Overhaul app helps fleet managers keep safety a priority on the roads, especially during inspection season, by immediately notifying the fleet manager when key safety requirements such as speeding are broken,” Conlon said. “Knowledge is power, so be the first to know and let your driver know you are in the cab with them watching for safe driving.”
Conlon noted that it's important to remember that you can’t control the other guy; all you can do is manage the downside of an accident when someone else hits you.
“TruckShield protects the carrier by demonstrating, even in court, that a robust, active, and deft management system was in operation, allowing for a strong counter to the Reptile Theory,” Conlon said. “The addition of Claims Buddy allows for effective claims management that can dramatically expedite the claims process, which is another win for the fleet manager.”
In the coming months, Overhaul is developing a network of commercial partnerships with insurance providers and brokers that will provide TruckShield users with access to lower cost motor-carrier (MC) liability coverage. TruckShield is the latest risk-mitigation technology that requires no installation or backend integration, just a download and go. A powerful visibility tool, it works on behalf of the trucking company by reducing risk and data complexity and delivers insurance savings.
“As an owner of a trucking company, I can uniquely relate to the frustration of rising premiums, year-over-year, and the constant threat of a catastrophic verdict that can wipe out a business,” Conlon added. “Truckshield is going to be a game-changer for North American motor carriers because it can provide unparalleled vulnerability protection, as well as quick insurance claims and cost savings. Within minutes, trucking-company management can monitor who is and who isn’t driving safely.”