n the transportation industry, the term telematics refers broadly to using computers in concert with telecommunications systems. The term has evolved to refer to systems used in automobiles that combine wireless communication with GPS tracking.

In 2010 the Association of Equipment Management Professionals standardized the use of telematics in equipment for the shipping industry. The Association of Equipment Management Professionals represents close to a thousand fleet professionals who work in construction, government, utilities, energy, mining, and any industry that requires the effective deployment of heavy equipment and is the heavy equipment industry’s only professional organization for equipment managers and their teams. The adopted ISO 15143-3 standard “aims to create a universal data communication protocol, ensuring compatibility and interpretability across diverse telematics systems from various manufacturers. It outlines precise specifications for data types, transmission frequencies, and access methodologies.” This allows for a unified, comprehensive view of all operational metrics across the organization.

The trucking industry took note, and the use of telematics for fleet risk management took off in 2010. The use of this technology has become best practice. A recent survey showed that 93 percent of companies with more than fifty power units are using telematics.

The transportation industry is booming in Alaska. As a result, Alaska is experiencing a driver shortage. This has led to many opportunities for drivers to make up to $150,000 annually. The push for transportation logistics is partly driven by the boom in mining and oil production that is ramping up once again. The Dalton Highway is seeing up to fifty trucks at a time on the 414-mile haul road, with companies delivering commodities, steel pipe, machinery, and other goods to operators on the North Slope.

Along with increased oil production on the Slope, mining operations are increasing investment in the state too. Gold prices have been rising since 2022, and the push for extraction is steadily increasing. The Kinross Manh Choh gold mine in Tetlin is one of those newly opened mines. Kinross is contracting an Alaska trucking company to move gold ore 250 miles to Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks for processing.

Black Gold Transport of North Pole has already hauled 100,000 tons of material more than 1.2 million miles altogether using B-train configured trucks that can each hold 50 tons of ore. This operation supports 200 good-paying jobs, including highly experienced truck drivers, mechanics, and support personnel, with most of these jobs based in the Fairbanks area. According to its website, Black Gold was selected “because of our sterling safety record; we understand how to operate safely in tough weather conditions, and we have many years of experience transporting ore in Interior Alaska.”

Black Gold started trucking in Alaska in 1987 and feels that the best-in-class safety standards of the trucking operation are the key to the overall success of the company. This started with a fleet risk management program that was driven from ownership down. The use of telematics in the operation is extensive and includes the use of artificial intelligence to monitor driver behaviors, including fatigue and distracted driving.

At the company’s command center in North Pole, Black Gold Transport utilizes telematics beyond monitoring safety of the trucking fleet. In addition to monitoring the location, these units can show and record speed, braking dynamics, fuel usage, sudden changes in steering, and acceleration. It even uses risk assessment tools to alert drivers when school busses are running along the route to enhance awareness for drivers. The command center operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, live monitoring all vehicles on the road. The communication between the Center and the fleet allows for a continuous flow of information that enhances operational safety. This information can allow management to become more operationally efficient, reduce risks for increased traffic and tracking, and inform driver coaching and liability defense.

Driver exoneration is a key benefit from telematics and vehicle-mounted cameras. Black’s Law Dictionary defines exoneration as “to lift, remove the stain of being called out for blame, liability, or punishment. It is more than just freeing an accused person of the responsibility for a criminal or otherwise illegal or wrongful act. It is publicly stating that this accused should never have been accused in the first place.” When an operator of a commercial vehicle is involved in a collision, an onboard camera showing the drivers’ actions prior to the collision becomes crucial to defending the driver.

Under Alaska law, a driver at fault for an accident may be liable for damages, including property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The amount of damages awarded to the injured party will depend on the extent of their injuries and the severity of the accident. Alaska is a pure comparative fault state, where a plaintiff can recover damages even if found to be partially at fault for the accident, if their percentage of fault is less than 100 percent.

“Nuclear verdicts,” those judgments that generally exceed $10 million dollars, have raised commercial auto insurance losses by $30 billion over a decade. Litigation is still a significant factor influencing the rise in insurance premiums with defense costs being a large part of those costs. With the increase in both nuclear and smaller verdicts nationally, “incurred losses for insurers rose by about 50 percent between 2015 and 2019,” according to a PowerFleet study. Those costs are often translated throughout the insurance industry, due to factors such as social inflation, or the claims costs that are increasing above general economic inflation. Telematics can help mitigate these costs. And programs that help avoid or mitigate fleet risks can lower the claim frequency and severity, which in turn lowers annual premiums.

“Telematics is a game-changing tool that empowers our clients to leverage cutting-edge technology, demonstrating their commitment to safety and risk management. By harnessing the power of telematics, we provide underwriters with tangible evidence of our clients’ utilization of advanced tech, instilling confidence in their proactive approach to safety,” notes Dax Lauwers with Marsh McLennan, an insurance broker with a large presence in Alaska and the transportation industry.

Daniel Hoffman, HSE/QC specialist at Black Gold Transport, adds, “Working to establish a world-class safety culture at the newly formed Black Gold Transport has been a very rewarding endeavor. From the company’s executive leadership, down through our operational managers, and ultimately residing within the cabs of each company driver, conducting operations in the safest manner possible is considered a normal part of Black Gold’s day-to-day business.”

One additional benefit is that the data can also be used for fleet optimization and preventative maintenance scheduling. Fleet optimization refers to a company’s ability to monitor, manage, and assess the location of the vehicle, area traffic, and the driver’s routing. This can have an added benefit for preventative maintenance programs by allowing the company to see real-time data from the engine systems, which helps planning for maintenance intervals.

Telematics is a proven risk reduction tool that can be used to increase operational efficiency, improve safety, and reduce transportation business costs. Whether it is the use of vehicle tracking, vehicle-mounted cameras, or an integrated, real-time data format system with artificial intelligence, the use of this technology is considered best-in-class. The ability to manage fleet safety effectively depends on having a good number of tools in the safety toolbox.

Telematics can help add another level of protection for trucking companies. Combined with a formal written fleet safety program and management commitment to good risk management, the investment made in this technology could have a total cost of risk reduction far beyond driver exoneration or the cost of maintenance—it could save a life.