Encore Coaches achieves a perfect Safety Score with Motive AI Dashcams.

Challenge

In the entertainment industry, customers have high standards and Encore has to exceed them. Safety can never be left to chance.

“When you drive an entertainer coach, it needs to be seamless, undetected that the coach is moving,” said Encore Safety Director, Laurie Trout. “Everything has to be smooth, because clients are typically trying to get a good night’s rest between venues before the next show. The stakes are high.”

Before turning to Motive, Encore had to work harder to ensure service was reliable, verify that their drivers were operating the coaches safely and that the client was truly receiving the premium of their Encore Experience. Encore had no remote monitoring to trigger preventive maintenance intervals along with other routine maintenance. Hours of service were difficult to track and had to be done manually, which meant they might be under or overutilized, creating the risk of compliance issues or even fines. The safety team at Encore couldn’t proactively improve safety because, without accurate data, they didn’t know where to start or on what to focus. Without video evidence, Encore couldn’t prove their drivers were faultless when accidents occurred, which led to time consuming insurance claims, lengthy lawsuits and expensive payouts. 

These challenges hampered the efficiency of Encore’s operations and made managing the safety of their drivers, clients and others on the road, at venues and everywhere in between a daunting task.

Solution

Encore invested in Motive’s AI Dashcams, Vehicle Gateways and Asset Gateways. The Motive Platform provided a comprehensive solution to Encore’s previous challenges: full fleet visibility, real-time monitoring of driver behavior and on-the-spot coaching, accurate video evidence in the event of accidents, hours of service tracking and reporting, and predictive maintenance. 

Motive’s technology has improved driver performance and provided the data needed to keep Encore drivers accountable behind the wheel and on the road. “Without Motive, it would be almost impossible to track how our drivers are performing and how safe they are out on the road,” says Trout. “It saves me a lot of time, and it also prevents accidents before they happen.”

Trout attributes Encore’s safety improvement to effective, timely coaching. Motive’s AI cameras detect driving behaviors such as cell phone use, speeding, distracted driving, rolling stop signs, and alert drivers right in the moment to stop the behavior before it becomes more serious or leads to an accident.

“When an incident does happen, the video is instantly accessible in my email,” she says. “I can review it right away.” For Encore, the dash cam footage has helped exonerate the company and drivers, avoiding claims and the associated time and costs of litigation.

The safety team at Encore also uses the Motive Safety Score to monitor and coach their drivers. Trout says that their drivers take their scores seriously. “Our drivers want to improve, they want to get better, and it shows in our perfect Safety Score,” says Trout.

Motive’s Safety Score is customized to match the unique needs of Encore’s fleet. Their drivers often find themselves driving under unique conditions such as in parking lots at stadiums or other large venues, or navigating tight spaces surrounded by crowds of fans. The Encore team modifies thresholds, weights, and ranges to focus on the behaviors that matter most. Trout can also dismiss events – such as operating over the speed limit with a police escort through a stop sign – so they don’t impact a driver’s score. 

Trout highlighted the importance of customizing fleet management tools to meet their unique needs. “I like that we can adjust the Motive alerts to work for our specific business,” she says. “The ability to tailor the platform to our own needs was crucial in our decision to adopt Motive.”

The real-time data from Motive also helps Encore track hours of service and generate detailed reports for compliance regulations. “When a driver signs in, they only have 10 hours of driving a day, so they need to know how much time they have available. Motive keeps us compliant and that saves us from fines and protects the driver’s livelihood,” Trout explains. “The amount of time we save with tracking HOS is unlimited. This job is not doable without having Motive’s platform in place.”

Motive also uses vehicle data to predict and schedule routine maintenance, and uses real-time fault code alerts to give mechanics the information they need to order or dispatch the right parts right away. “Our vehicles become more reliable when we’re able to predict maintenance,” notes Tony Barham, Executive Vice President at Encore. “It’s disruptive and costly if our coaches break down. When our coaches are running, our clients are safer and happier and we’re able to be more profitable.”

Results

The impact of Motive at Encore was immediate. Driver safety scores saw a significant boost. “Our lowest driver score is 85 and our average score is 100, the highest score you can have,” Trout proudly mentions. This improvement resulted from Motive’s real-time monitoring and data-driven insights that encourage safer driving practices. The 100 average Safety Score for Encore drivers exhibits the company’s strong emphasis on safety culture.

Barham explained, “Motive makes our drivers more accountable for how they are performing and that positively impacts their safety score.”

Predictive maintenance also plays a central role. “Being able to predict when a vehicle is due for maintenance helps us make sure breakdowns don’t happen out on the road,” Barham says.

Dash cam footage has become a valuable asset in legal disputes, providing clear evidence of incidents. “The AI Dashcam shows real-time visibility into an accident. Without Motive, it’s our word against theirs.” This capability helps Encore avoid costly litigation and underscores the importance of accurate, high definition video evidence. Encore recently saved $20,000 in damages from one accident alone by showcasing Motive’s Dashcam footage to their insurance provider. “The footage showed the insurance company it was not our fault and that they had to accept liability,” Trout explains. 

Encore has fundamentally transformed their fleet management and safety operations with Motive. The platform’s safety, compliance, and predictive maintenance features have bolstered vehicle reliability and driver performance and saved time and resources.

“Motive makes our drivers safer and more conscientious, enhancing driver accountability,” Barham emphasized. “And because we’re getting customers to venues without any safety issues, it’s helped our brand and saved us money.”

The testimonials, statements, and opinions presented on this webpage reflect the real-life experiences of individuals and/or companies who have used our products and/or services. Individual results may vary and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The testimonials presented on this webpage were voluntarily provided and not paid.