The Christmas season brings with it increased risks for commercial vehicle drivers, with speeding incidents spiking 12% in the week before the holiday, according to data from Motive.
The telematics company blames tightening delivery windows combined with greater urgency among the motoring public as they rush to get in last-minute shopping.
The risks are especially heightened in bad weather, with Motive reporting that 66% of Christmas Day collisions occurring on wet, snowy or icy roads. Christmas Day collisions after dark jump 1.7 times above the norm, which Motive attributes to parties, drinking and more travel later in the day.
For the overall month of December, only 38% of collisions occur after dark.
Motive suggests fleets leverage AI-powered platforms to adjust to the increased risk during the holiday season. It says fleets can tighten pre-Christmas speeding control, use GPS tracking to inform route or schedule adjustments when wet, snowy or icy roads are present, and plan for the Christmas evening surge with after-dark policies and monitoring to protect workers in the field.
Motive’s full Holiday Outlook Report can be found here.
