In the latest episode of Arval BNP Paribas Group's Change Drivers podcast, our alertdriving CEO Gerry Martin joined host Karen Brunot and Arval's Head of Insurance and Driver Safety, Dheeraj Gupta, to explore the key risks facing today's drivers and discuss what it will take to create safer roads worldwide. At the heart of their conversation was the human element behind road accidents, reflecting both the lives lost to collisions and the central role driver behavior plays in preventing them. 

Human Behavior: The Greatest Safety Challenge 

While infrastructure, regulations, road conditions, and vehicle type all play a role in safety, human behavior has the most direct influence on risk. The choices drivers make behind the wheel, whether conscious or not, are what ultimately determine how a drive unfolds. And it’s dangerous choices like distracted driving and driving under the influence that steer that path towards a serious accident. When attention is divided or judgment is impaired by drugs, alcohol, or even emotional factors like aggression, the risk to every road user goes up. 

We can see this reflected in collision investigation reports, and increasingly in telematics data collected from fleet and company vehicles. Risk indicators such as harsh braking, lane drifting, and speeding help paint a clear picture of driver performance and reinforce just how measurable the impact of individual habits and behaviors really is. 

Data Confirms the Problem, But Doesn't Fix It 

While data helps us understand what’s happening on the road, it’s only one part of the solution. 

“A lot of companies might believe that buying a telematics solution is the end of everything, it’s the holy grail of improving driver behavior. But it's not as simple as that. Telematics tells you... the mistakes that the drivers may be making […] but as long as that data does not get analyzed further, it doesn't really help improve things.” 

If human behavior is at the root of the problem on the road, then the solution has to be rooted in a human response as well. For alertdriving, that means coaching that takes aim at understanding and dispelling the assumptions drivers hold.  Combining telematics data with a training partner focused on human change is the key to an effective safety effort.  

This is exactly the idea behind the Arval-alertdriving global partnership: a collaboration that allows Arval to act on the rich data collected from their vehicles. 

How Arval and alertdriving Drive Safer Fleets 

As an industry leader in mobility solutions and vehicle leasing, Arval helps fleets manage their operations through onboard telematics devices. Driving and safety scores showcase how vehicles are actually being driven, reporting metrics like distances travelled, fuel efficiency, and event detection. This gives clients insight into which drivers are at risk, as well as when and where risky behaviors occur.  

Flagging these risk patterns is just the first step; the real value comes from addressing them. That's where alertdriving comes in, developing targeted training programs based on fleet-wide and individual driver trends to tackle the underlying causes of collisions. This integrated approach is proven to create real behavior change and lasting safety improvements. 

Telematics alone tends to plateau around a 30% crash reduction but layering it with training shows an increase in improvement by three times. 

Global Road Safety  

The Arval-alertdriving conversation makes one thing clear: safer roads start with safer choices. Vehicles will keep getting smarter, and regulations will keep evolving, but neither can substitute for the judgment of the person behind the wheel. What works is pairing vehicle data with actionable, behavior-focused programs, moving fleets from simply identifying risks to actively reducing them. Implemented at scale, this approach has the potential to lower collision rates, reduce operational costs, and most importantly, save lives on the road. 

You can watch the full episode of Change Drivers here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKK-V9TAdyw&t=7s.