By GEOFFREY RODGERS

You might suspect that the driver behind the wheel of your pickup truck is costing you money. You just don’t know how much.

Every harsh brake, unnecessary idle and speeding incident eats into your profits through fuel waste, equipment wear and higher insurance premiums. Yet most construction fleet managers are flying blind, relying on basic GPS tracking or waiting for accident reports to understand what’s really happening.

We’ve worked with countless construction companies frustrated by the same problem: they know driver behavior directly impacts their costs and safety record, but they can’t identify which drivers are operating safely and efficiently versus those creating liability risks.

Here’s the solution: a systematic driver scorecard that tracks individual performance across the customizable metrics that matter most to your construction business. Driver scorecards collect and analyze data on various driving behaviors, providing valuable insights for fleet managers.

We’ll provide you with a list of criteria your driver scorecard should include to rate each driver. We’ll also show you an easier, more efficient digital solution that helps construction companies track, monitor and improve driver and fleet performance.

Here’s how Tenna’s Driver Scorecard improves fleet operations.

Customizable Scoring and Grading Criteria 

Construction fleets rarely operate the same vehicles under identical conditions. That’s why our driver scorecards offer fully customizable thresholds, rules and event types. Fleet managers can tailor scoring logic to match specific asset types like heavy trucks, light-duty vehicles and passenger cars, while adjusting criteria based on jobsite requirements or regional regulations.

Real-Time Data Capture with GPS Tracking and AI Dash Cameras

Our offering provides real-time safety monitoring through GPS fleet tracking devices and AI-powered dash cameras.

The system automatically captures trip events and violations, including posted speed limits at violation locations.

Our dash cameras integrate with driver scorecards, automatically detecting and classifying risky behaviors like phone use, drowsiness, seat belt usage violations and distracted driving in real time with AI.

This data feeds directly into scoring algorithms for driver and fleet manager review.

Individual Driver Performance Measurement

Track how each driver performs behind the wheel by comparing driving habits across your entire on-road team. Our scorecards allow fleet managers to evaluate safety behaviors like excessive speeding, aggressive acceleration and harsh cornering across the board. By assigning performance scores, measuring changes over time and considering incentive offers, drivers are more likely to improve driving habits.

The system combines hard telematics data with safety trend observations to create performance profiles that reveal exactly which drivers deserve recognition and which need driver coaching. By addressing unsafe driving habits, companies can reduce incidents and improve overall safety records.

Safety and Incident Documentation

When accidents happen or safety violations occur, our AI dash cams provide the video evidence to get a better picture of the facts, give detailed feedback to drivers and in some cases, protect your business.

These AI-powered cameras record continuous footage while flagging dangerous behaviors like texting while driving or failure to wear seatbelts. Drivers can get real-time distraction detection alerts depending on how the camera is configured to proactively curb the behavior before an incident occurs.

Actionable Driving Insights

Monitor your fleet’s safety across all of your on-road operations with automated reporting that tracks violation patterns by driver. Our analytics reveal which drivers consistently have excessive idle time, how fuel consumption correlates with driving behavior and how aggressive driving like repeated harsh braking impacts maintenance frequency.

These insights help you allocate training resources efficiently and identify systemic safety issues before they escalate. It also helps minimize wear on vehicles and their maintenance needs.

Targeted Driver Training and Coaching Programs

We automatically provide drivers with scores and provides managers with specific incident footage when applicable and performance metrics for coaching conversations. The platform tracks improvement over time to improve your safety culture and identify which drivers continue struggling with specific safety behaviors.

What Your Driver Scorecard Should Include

If you’re not ready to implement driver safety scorecards just yet and you are still shopping around, here’s what we recommend making sure the software you explore during your buying journey includes:

Hard Acceleration: Track harsh acceleration from stops that wastes fuel, increases vehicle wear and causes cargo to shift dangerously in the truck bed.
Hard Braking: Record sudden braking events that indicate following too closely, distracted driving or poor road awareness – which increases brake wear and can cause unsecured tools to become projectiles.
Hard Cornering: Document sharp turns taken at excessive speeds that stress suspension components and increase rollover risk for high-center-of-gravity vehicles like loaded dump trucks or equipment trailers.
Idling: Monitor excessive engine idling beyond job requirements that burns fuel without productive work and violates anti-idling regulations.
Max Speed: Record highest speeds reached during trips to identify drivers who consistently exceed safe operating speeds. High speeds reduce reaction time and can violate commercial vehicle speed restrictions.
Speeding: Track posted speed limit violations, noting both violation speed and posted limit for severity assessment, since 5 mph over differs greatly from 20 mph over the limit.
Miles Driven without Violation: Measure consecutive safe driving distances to recognize good performance and identify improvement trends.
Missed Inspection: Document skipped pre-trip or post-trip vehicle inspections required by DOT regulations and company policy.
Forward Collision Warning: Record instances of inadequate stopping distance or following too closely, especially dangerous for heavy construction vehicles that require longer stopping distances.
Headway Monitoring: Track following distances to ensure drivers maintain adequate spacing for safe driving practices.
Tailgating: Document aggressive following behavior that pressures other drivers and creates rear-end collision risks, particularly problematic given the intimidating size of construction vehicles.
Distracted Driving: Record observations of drivers not paying full attention due to mobile devices, eating or adjusting controls.
Drowsiness/Head Down: Monitor signs of fatigue including head nodding and slow reactions, which can impair judgment.
No Seatbelt: Track seatbelt usage since unrestrained drivers face dramatically higher injury rates.
Phone Use/Hand to Head: Document hand-held phone use that reduces reaction time and situational awareness.
Smoking: Record smoking while driving that creates distraction through lighting and handling cigarettes, plus fire risks when transporting flammable materials.
Yawning: Monitor excessive yawning as an early indicator of drowsiness before more severe fatigue symptoms develop, suggesting drivers may need schedule adjustments or medical evaluation.

Geoffrey Rodgers is product manager at Tenna.