Report: Safety tech boosts driver exonerations
Driver exoneration is the leading reason to deploy safety technology, with 84% of fleets citing the motivation in new research from Teletrac Navman. Fifty-three percent of fleets that suffered an accident in the previous year successfully cleared a driver using safety tech, according to the report.
The “Mobilizing the Future of Fleets: 2026 Risk and Exoneration Edition” uncovered that a third (34%) of fleets reported being impacted by fraudulent motor claims. And 77% of respondents agreed that increasing litigation and legal costs are now a global concern, made evident by the rise of fleet insurance premiums, with umbrella liability coverage increasing from 10% to 30%, and auto liability from 10% to 20%.
“The role of telematics is evolving and taking on a more strategic purpose in fleet organizations, moving solely from a tool used for cost control and improvements, to an extremely powerful, proactive risk prevention and management solution,” Teletrac Navman CEO Alain Samaha said in a news release.
“A high percentage of fleet safety incidents are caused by third parties and other external factors, and video telematics is now the most powerful tool to provide irrefutable, contextual evidence that protects people, preserves reputations, and stabilizes margins.”
Teletrac Navman’s research found that modern fleets also are taking a “considered and layered approach” to risk management, with 56% utilizing five or more technologies and 74% partnering telematics with dashcams in a union that provides the full context around driving events, combining performance metrics, video evidence, and location data to create a complete, defensible picture when incidents occur, and for meaningful, proactive driver training.
Accordingly, since implementing safety technology, 85% of fleets have reported being able to counter the general rise in insurance premiums, with 65% recording premium decreases, Teletrac Navman said. Nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents reported that combining cameras with telematics data drastically reduced the time needed to process accident claims, indicating that integrated evidence is transforming disputes into clear outcomes.
“This is a moment for fleet leaders to make a positive, strategic shift,” Samaha added. “Treat safety tech as a long‑term asset: invest in platforms that scale, embed evidence into everyday workflows and fraud protection, and use outcomes to renegotiate insurance and drive operational change.
“Do this, and safety becomes a competitive differentiator—not just a line on a budget, but a foundation for resilience and growth.”