New fleet technology unveiled at IAA Transportation promises to make commercial-vehicle incidents easier to investigate and recurring risks easier to identify.
Geotab’s latest safety suite includes a structured incident-investigation system, expanded video coaching, a central safety dashboard and camera-based detection of certain road violations.
For operators of vans, pickups, lorries and mixed vehicle fleets, the significant development is not another dashboard. It is the ability to bring journey data, video, photographs, reports and other evidence into one incident record.
Used well, this could help establish what actually happened, protect drivers from incorrect blame and reveal where training or operational changes are required. Used badly, it could create intrusive monitoring, misleading driver scores and a large collection of data that nobody acts upon.
What has Geotab introduced?
Geotab Investigations is designed to create a structured record for collisions, property damage, complaints and other fleet incidents.
Its stated capabilities include:
- Searching vehicle activity by location and time
- Reconstructing journeys using trips, speed events and location data
- Adding photographs, video, documents, emails and notes
- Tracking a case through defined stages
- Creating time-aligned records for operational and insurance reviews
Geotab has also announced a Safety Overview Page with a 0–100 metric, peer comparisons, behaviour trends and tools intended to identify higher-risk drivers.
Video coaching is being extended to additional compatible cameras, while certain Geotab cameras can now detect red-light violations as well as illegal U-turns.
These are manufacturer descriptions, not guarantees that every incident will be resolved automatically. Geotab itself states that its investigation product is not an evidence-preservation or legal-custody service. Operators remain responsible for retention, legal holds and the integrity of evidence.
Why connected data needs a clear process
A fleet incident can generate information across several systems:
- A driver’s written account
- Vehicle tracking and speed data
- Dashcam or multi-camera footage
- Photographs from the scene
- Defect and maintenance records
- Daily vehicle checks
- Witness or customer reports
- Insurance correspondence
If those records are held by different people, relevant evidence can be missed or deleted before it is reviewed.
Bringing the information together may improve consistency. However, location data or a harsh-braking alert should never be treated as the complete explanation. Emergency manoeuvres, poor road conditions, another road user’s actions or an unreported mechanical problem may all provide essential context.
Six steps for a fair fleet-investigation system
1. Define exactly what the technology is for
Start with a written purpose.
A system might be introduced to investigate collisions, defend insurance claims, improve driver coaching or identify high-risk locations. Those purposes should be specific enough for drivers and managers to understand.
Avoid collecting information simply because the technology makes it possible. Decide which events matter, who will review them and what action could reasonably follow.
2. Establish an immediate incident procedure
Drivers should know what to do before an incident occurs.
Subject to personal safety and company procedures, the process may require them to:
- Stop safely and contact the emergency services where necessary.
- Notify the designated manager.
- Record the location, time and vehicles involved.
- Photograph damage and relevant road conditions.
- Identify witnesses.
- Report any vehicle defect or warning light.
- Avoid admitting liability or speculating about the cause.
- Preserve relevant camera footage or other records.
The company should then open a case promptly and identify information that could otherwise be overwritten.
3. Treat telematics as evidence, not a verdict
A safety score can help prioritise attention, but it does not replace competent review.
Check whether:
- The correct driver was assigned to the vehicle.
- The device time and location were accurate.
- Speed data reflects the applicable restriction.
- Camera footage covers the complete event.
- A harsh manoeuvre was necessary to avoid a collision.
- Vehicle defects or load movement were reported.
- Road, weather or site conditions contributed.
Give the driver an opportunity to explain the event and challenge inaccurate information. A defensible process should establish facts rather than search for data that supports a predetermined conclusion.
4. Protect privacy from the beginning
Vehicle cameras and location tracking can capture personal information about drivers, passengers and members of the public.
The Information Commissioner’s Office says businesses must have a lawful basis for using cameras, explain when and why recording takes place and keep footage secure. The ICO also advises that audio should normally be disabled unless there is strong justification for recording it.
Operators should define:
- Who can access footage and journey data
- How long routine records are retained
- When an incident extends the retention period
- Whether private use of a vehicle is permitted
- How monitoring is disabled during personal journeys
- How drivers and passengers are informed
- How data-access requests will be handled
Complete a data-protection impact assessment where the proposed monitoring creates a high privacy risk. The ICO’s detailed vehicle-surveillance guidance is currently under review following legislative changes, so businesses should check the latest version before deploying a system.
5. Connect digital evidence to vehicle maintenance
A telematics platform does not make a vehicle roadworthy.
DVSA guidance still places responsibility on operators to maintain commercial vehicles properly, conduct appropriate checks and repair defects. Investigation records should therefore link to maintenance and daily-check information where relevant.
If repeated events involve braking, steering, tyres, warning lights or visibility equipment, inspect the vehicle rather than assuming the cause is driver behaviour.
Likewise, a driver who reports a defect must be given a clear response. Data-led safety will quickly lose credibility if the business records driving events while leaving reported mechanical problems unresolved.
6. Turn findings into proportionate action
An investigation should finish with more than a closed case.
Record:
- The supported cause or contributing factors
- Any uncertainty that remains
- Vehicle repairs required
- Driver coaching or training
- Route, schedule or site changes
- Updates to risk assessments
- Insurance notifications
- A deadline and named owner for each action
Review incidents collectively as well as individually. Several reversing events at one yard may indicate a layout or visibility problem. Repeated harsh braking on one route may reflect unrealistic scheduling or a hazardous junction rather than the conduct of a single driver.
Do not overlook the physical cab
Connected technology should sit alongside a basic cab standard covering clear footwells, functioning seatbelts, clean glass, secure equipment and unobstructed controls.
Where several vehicles or drivers are involved, record fitted accessories against each registration or fleet number.
Farm Packs supplies heavy-duty seat covers for working vehicles, including vans, pickups, 4x4s and lorries. Any cover should be selected using the actual seat configuration and must not obstruct airbags, belts, adjustment controls, sensors or other safety equipment.
Seat protection can support routine interior care. It does not replace daily checks, vehicle maintenance or an effective fleet-safety system.
Better evidence should lead to better decisions
The latest connected-safety tools could make incident records faster to assemble and recurring risks easier to see.
Their value will depend on the system around them: a clearly defined purpose, transparent monitoring, secure data, fair driver involvement and managers who act on what the evidence reveals.
The goal should not be to collect the greatest possible quantity of driver data. It should be to establish facts consistently, correct genuine risks and prevent the same incident from happening again.
This article provides general information and does not replace legal, data-protection, insurance or fleet-safety advice.
Sources
Geotab: Investigations and new fleet-safety capabilities — announced 14 September 2026
Van Fleet World: Geotab launches connected safety tools — 15 September 2026
Information Commissioner’s Office: Dashcams and UK GDPR — accessed 16 September 2026
DVSA: Commercial vehicle safety and maintenance — last updated 29 July 2025
