D.M. Bowman Inc. reduced fleet collisions cost by 20% and got insurance premium savings with Geotab

D.M. Bowman Inc., one of the Mid-Atlantic's largest transportation and logistics carriers, reduced fleet accident costs by 20% after deploying Geotab telematics across its 325-truck fleet. By replacing a legacy telematics system with Geotab's real-time vehicle monitoring technology, the company gained actionable driver behavior data — including seatbelt compliance, speed violations, hard braking, and hard turning events — that its previous system could not provide. 

The results extended beyond safety: through a usage-based insurance program powered by Geotab data, D.M. Bowman also qualified for insurance premium discounts, turning fleet safety investment into measurable financial ROI.

The challenge: safety blind spots in a high-risk fleet

Barry Wertz, Director of Safety and Risk Management at D.M. Bowman, knew the company had a visibility problem. The fleet was already using a telematics system on its Volvo and Mack trucks, but it delivered data only once a day — far too slow to respond to unsafe driver behavior in real time.

When Protective Insurance Company approached D.M. Bowman with an offer to fund Geotab installation as part of its MileMarker usage-based insurance program, Wertz saw an opportunity to do more than audit mileage. He wanted to understand what drivers were actually doing on the road — and intervene before an incident occurred.

How Geotab improves fleet safety: the real-time advantage

  The core shift for D.M. Bowman was moving from delayed, daily reporting to continuous, real-time alerts. Geotab's telematics platform monitors driver behavior across multiple safety dimensions simultaneously:

• Speed compliance: tracking when drivers exceed the posted speed limit or the fleet's internal governed speed of 63 mph, the system records if a driver goes over the 70 miles per hour mark for a minute or more with severe and automatic driver consequences
•  Seatbelt usage: automatic alerts when a driver is not buckled
•  Hard braking and hard turning events: flagging aggressive driving patterns correlated with accident risk
•  Pre-collision behavior: the ability to review vehicle data in the seconds and minutes before a collision occurs

  This data flow gave Wertz something his previous system never could: the ability to call a driver immediately after an unsafe event, address the behavior directly, and document the correction.

“Since our trucks are governed, the speeding isn't occurring on the interstates — it's happening out in the rural areas, on side streets, and byways. Areas where there is a lot more risk. We're able to see that.” — Barry Wertz, Director of Safety and Risk Management, D.M. Bowman Inc.

 How to reduce accidents in a commercial fleet: D.M. Bowman's approach

The 20% reduction in accident costs D.M. Bowman achieved did not come from a single intervention. It came from combining real-time Geotab data with structured safety programs and consistent driver accountability.

Wertz describes the workflow: when Geotab generates an alert for unsafe driving, he contacts the driver immediately. Drivers quickly learn that risky behavior is visible, documented, and followed up on — which changes behavior before a crash happens. Geotab also allows the team to reconstruct events: in one incident during a heavy rainstorm, the system confirmed a driver was traveling at 55 mph when company policy required a lower speed for those conditions. That data did not just settle the incident — it supported the broader safety culture Wertz was building.

The combination of real-time monitoring, prompt intervention, and expanded safety programs resulted in the 20% reduction in accident costs the company achieved in the first two years.

How telematics reduces fleet insurance premiums

The MileMarker program from Protective Insurance Company structured insurance premiums around verified telematics data from Geotab — a direct link between driving behavior and what a carrier pays. The program collects fleet miles driven and applies safety benchmarks including:

• Maximum number of speeding minutes allowed per week
•  Hard braking event thresholds
• Hard turning event thresholds
•   Speed cap compliance

Fleets that meet or exceed these standards qualify for insurance premium discounts. For D.M. Bowman, this meant that the same data driving safety improvements was simultaneously building the case for lower insurance costs — making telematics a dual-purpose investment with a clear financial return.

This model reflects a broader industry pattern: insurers that offer usage-based fleet programs recognize that real-time telematics data is the most accurate predictor of accident risk available, and they price policies accordingly.

Fleet safety ROI: what the numbers represent

The 20% reduction in accident costs at D.M. Bowman translates directly to two financial outcomes:

  1. Lower direct accident costs — fewer collisions, lower repair and liability exposure

  2. Insurance premium eligibility — documented compliance with MileMarker safety benchmarks

For a fleet of 325 trucks operating in high-traffic corridors and rural byways across the Mid-Atlantic, those costs compound quickly. Wertz's assessment is straightforward: real-time driver behavior data is the most valuable thing Geotab provides — and the financial returns follow from acting on it.

Suggested: Here you find a step by step formula for fleet safety ROI

Beyond safety: fleet management efficiency gains

Geotab's value at D.M. Bowman extends into day-to-day operations that compound the safety ROI:

• Real-time vehicle location: Fleet managers consistently turn to the Geotab platform first when locating a truck. While D.M. Bowman had other location tools available, Geotab became the default because of its speed and accuracy.
• Engine fault monitoring: Geotab surfaces engine fault data in real time, giving the maintenance team the opportunity to act before a mechanical issue becomes a breakdown or a safety incident.
• Routing optimization: The company plans to use Geotab for truck routing — extending the platform's value from reactive safety management to proactive operational planning.
•  Reporting: Wertz cites the simplicity of Geotab's reports as a meaningful operational benefit. Configuring, running, and sharing safety and compliance reports requires minimal time from his team.

"We'll do anything we can to make ourselves more efficient since, as you know, this industry is about pennies." — Barry Wertz, Director of Safety and Risk Management, D.M. Bowman Inc.

  Results at a glance

D.M. Bowman's experience demonstrates that fleet safety ROI is not theoretical. Real-time telematics data from Geotab enables the specific interventions — immediate driver coaching, behavior pattern identification, pre-crash reconstruction — that reduce accidents and lower insurance costs. For transportation fleets operating in high-risk environments, the question is not whether telematics pays for itself. The question is how quickly.

Want to see how Geotab can reduce accidents and lower insurance costs for your fleet?

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