Like many other large fleet organizations, J.L. Rothrock recognized the need to lower their insurance claims and improve their insurance rates due to road collisions. For several years, the company considered a video-based solution and became highly motivated in 2019 due to an excessive number of incidents and claims costs.
J.L. Rothrock noted not understanding the full picture of these accidents was a key contributor to their challenges. “You don’t know what you don’t know”, said Steve McCormick, VP of finance at J.L. Rothrock. The company knew they needed to implement safety cameras to reduce accidents and lower insurance costs.
What drove us toward Netradyne specifically was for insurance defense, but we ended up with a driver training tool too.
– Steve McCormick, VP of Finance
McCormick conducted thorough market research for the right safety solution. What stood out was the positive driving recognition ability that Netradyne provided. J.L. Rothrock did a pilot test with some drivers that they thought were safe and others that they thought could use some work. On the very first day of the trial, Netradyne notified them of the “safe drivers” using their cell phone while driving. “We assumed we had safe drivers with good habits. We were a little bit shocked at how many risky activities were happening in the cab, and which drivers were doing these things.”
With access to the complete picture, McCormick and team were able to easily inform and coach drivers of their risky driving habits. They especially had success with seat belt and cell phone compliance. And it wasn’t hard to get drivers on board—an exoneration video from the pilot showcased the value of Driveri, and in turn, the company received very little driver pushback. When accidents occurred, the company was able to review and send footage to law enforcement immediately. Being able to know exactly what happened and prove it, went a long way in boosting driver morale and handling insurance claims and accident costs. McCormick also noted being able to provide the footage, took the stress off drivers – they didn’t have to remember exactly what happened.
Shortly after deployment of Driveri, J.L. Rothrock saw a 60% reduction in talking on cell phones and 34% reduction in following distance.
Within a year, the company also was able to reduce claims paid by $1.2M and deductible paid by $185K.
J.L. Rothrock took advantage of Netradyne’s GreenZone Score which provides insight into how well drivers are driving. To incentivize and reward drivers, the company decided to allocate ½ of a driver’s safety bonus based on their GreenZone score. This meant, the higher the score, the closer the drivers were to receiving the bonus. This rewards system has helped their drivers proactively assess their scores and take action to improve it. McCormick noted the importance of making the bonus attainable, or they risked having drivers give up and stop trying altogether.
One of our best and most senior drivers got an alert for using his phone. We showed him the video and asked if it was legal, and he said ‘no.’ And he stopped doing it immediately. It was that easy, that fast. We have seen a tremendous reduction on the phone use.
– Steve McCormick, VP of Finance
J.L. Rothrock Inc. is a premier Intermodal and Truckload carrier serving the Southeastern United States. Known for over 75 years as “The Dependable Motor Carrier”, J.L. Rothrock Trucking, Inc. combines its long-term freight moving experience with key terminal locations and current technology to keep their customers up to date, shipments intact, and deliveries prompt.
