Fleet accidents: a frequently underestimated risk

An underestimated risk driven by repeated journeys

Professional fleets play a central role in daily mobility. Utility vehicles, sales cars, technicians and logistics fleets travel thousands of kilometres every day, most often on familiar and repeated routes.
Yet accident data shows that road risk linked to fleets is frequently underestimated, precisely because it is perceived as being under control.

Across Europe, analyses from the European Commission show that most accidents occur during routine journeys, rather than in exceptional situations. This reality directly concerns professional travel, which is characterised by high exposure and repeated routes.

An exposure-driven risk above all

Fleet risk appears first and foremost as a risk of cumulative exposure to traffic environments, as documented by accident and mobility data.
Time spent on the road, the diversity of environments travelled through, time constraints and operational pressure all directly influence both the likelihood and the severity of accidents.

Fatal crashes can often occur outside urban areas, even though these road networks carry a minority of overall traffic. These routes are nevertheless widely used by professional fleets, particularly for interurban journeys, long-distance deliveries, and technical interventions.

Risk does not depend solely on driver behaviour, but strongly on the driving context.

What traditional indicators do not always show

European analyses confirm that road risk cannot be reduced to reported accidents alone.
The European Commission’s Trendline report highlights that certain mobility indicators such as actual speeds driven or behavioural consistency act as early warning signals, well before an accident occurs.

In urban areas, for example, compliance with speed limits often remains below 50% in several European countries, even though these environments concentrate the most complex interactions.
These gaps between regulation and real-world use are not always visible in accident statistics, yet they reveal a structurally higher level of exposure, particularly for fleets operating daily in these areas.

Why fleet risk is still poorly assessed

In many organisations, road risk is still assessed using broad indicators such as the number of claims, insurance costs or accident frequency rates.
However, these indicators do not always reflect the true level of exposure.

They often mask:

• the concentration of incidents on recurring routes,
• the influence of the territories travelled through,
• areas where accident severity is structurally higher.

Without this granular understanding, risk appears diffuse, whereas it is often localised, repetitive and predictable.

Using data to objectify fleet risk

The Trendline report also reminds us that traditional safety indicators are lagging indicators.
By contrast, mobility data makes it possible to observe early signs of degradation: repeated excessive speeds, unstable behaviours and prolonged exposure on specific network segments.

For fleets, this upstream perspective is decisive. It enables organisations to understand where risk is concentrated, before it results in accidents with significant human and operational consequences.

Would you like a clearer, more objective view of your fleet’s road risk? Contact us today to discover how our solutions can support you with data-driven analytics.

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