Predictive Safety: What Sets The Best Fleets Apart

Hayden Cardiff (Descartes) explains how leading fleets are using AI, predictive analytics, and data to improve driver safety and prevent crashes.

Jul 30, 2026

For many companies, saying fleet safety is important is a lot like saying people are our most important asset. It sounds good, but it seldom matches reality. That may be changing. For a growing number of forward-thinking companies, fleet safety has become about more than simply responding to accidents after they occur or focusing on compliance. They are using data, technology, and AI to identify potential risks, improve driver performance, and prevent incidents before they happen.

What separates these companies from the rest, and what lessons can we learn from them? That’s the topic I discussed with Hayden Cardiff, Vice President of Safety Solutions at Descartes, during a recent episode of Talking Logistics.

Would You Put Your Freight on a Driverless Truck?

Driverless trucks have been “coming soon” for more than a decade. But recent developments suggest the industry may finally be approaching a new phase. This month, for example, PepsiCo disclosed that it is operating 35 driverless trucks on public roads in Arizona as part of its live supply chain operations.

Back in August 2022, we asked Indago members about testing driverless trucks. At the time, most respondents were not testing the technology. It’s now four years later. Has shipper sentiment changed? Are companies more willing to test or use driverless truck capacity, and what barriers remain to broader adoption?

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