Claims News Service, June 20, 11:05 a.m. EDT –According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death and injury both on and off the job. Of the more than 110,000 accidental deaths in 2004, 46,200 Americans died in motor vehicle collisions and another 2.4 million were seriously injured. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 2,086 of the 5,000 workers killed on the job.

What is the cause of most of these accidents? Studies show that risky driving behavior is the number one culprit. That includes tailgating, poor awareness when approaching intersections, distracted driving, not looking far enough ahead, speeding, fatigue, and aggressive lane changing or passing.DriveCam, a driver risk management company that seeks to reduce claims costs by improving the way people drive, says its driver monitoring system helps shrink the number of accidents drivers are involved.

DriveCam's palm-sized recorder is mounted on the windshield behind the rearview mirror, where it records what drivers see and hear 10 seconds immediately before, during, and after a risky driving event. G-forces such as hard braking, sudden acceleration, or collision cause the recorder to save the 10 seconds immediately before and after the triggered event. Saved events are downloaded, analyzed, and assigned a risk score to coach drivers and improve driving behavior and assess liability in collisions.