Vehicle fleets: controlling costs while strengthening safety

Professional fleets face a dual challenge: ensuring driver safety while controlling the costs associated with collisions, downtime, and operational disruptions.

Yet 2024 European data (ONISR and GOV.UK) shows that progress in road safety is slowing. In France, fatal accidents have risen slightly (+0.8%), and the trend is similar in the United Kingdom (+1%).

In this context, companies must operate in an environment where road risk remains high particularly outside urban areas, where accidents are less frequent but far more severe. Understanding the risks a fleet is exposed to has now become a strategic lever for overall performance.

Understanding risk to drive performance

The most common causes of fatal accidents have not changed: speed remains the leading factor, implicated in nearly 30% of road deaths in France, followed by inattention and failure to comply with traffic rules.

These behaviours have a direct impact on fleets:

• Increased claims
• Rising repair costs
• Vehicle downtime
• Disrupted operations

But risk is not solely linked to driver behaviour. It varies significantly depending on the areas traveled. In urban environments, exposure to vulnerable road users is much higher.

Outside urban areas, speed is the main factor that increases accident severity. A single route can therefore present very different levels of risk depending on the zones it crosses.

For fleet managers, these insights are essential. They help reveal not only what happens, but also where and why it happens. This granular understanding of risk becomes the foundation of an effective safety strategy.

Data: a strategic lever to reduce incidents

The digital transformation of the sector has profoundly reshaped fleet management. Mobility data now enables fleets to observe real traffic conditions, analyse driving behaviours, and identify the areas where exposure to risk is highest.

When used effectively, data becomes a powerful tool to:

• Identify high-risk road segments
• Understand how actual driving speeds influence incident probability
• Detect zones with frequent interactions involving vulnerable road users
• Track how risk evolves over time

This approach moves beyond a general view of danger toward a local, contextualized understanding of risk.

It allows fleet managers to target their efforts, train drivers based on the most critical zones, and systematically reduce exposure to incidents.

From insight to action with MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence

At MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence, we support fleet managers in leveraging their data to improve both road safety and operational performance.

Our approach combines accident analysis, real driving behaviour, knowledge of road environments, and an understanding of actual speeds to provide a detailed view of the risks drivers face.

This expertise allows companies to go far beyond simple monitoring: they can anticipate critical situations, adjust routes, guide preventive actions, and measure the real impact of their decisions.

By making data actionable, we help organizations build targeted, effective, and sustainable road safety strategies—protecting their teams while optimizing costs.

Act now to protect your teams and your operations

Beyond the statistics, every accident involves a driver, an immobilized vehicle, and significant human and financial consequences.

Data-driven insights make it possible to prevent these situations before they occur.

👉 Looking to reduce your fleet’s exposure to risk and improve driver safety? MICHELIN Mobility Intelligence can support you with data-driven mobility solutions.

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