Motive Launches New AI Suite to Prevent High-Risk Collisions

Motive, the AI-powered platform for physical operations, has unveiled a new suite of AI Road Safety features designed to detect high-risk driving behaviors earlier and prevent collisions before they occur. 

“The road safety crisis has been escalating for years, and it demands technology that evolves just as fast. These new features reveal early, reliable danger signals so operators can intervene before behaviors turn into collisions,” says Hemant Banavar, Chief Product Officer, Motive.

Despite recent declines, road fatalities remain alarmingly high worldwide, with fatigue, distraction, and lane departures continuing to drive preventable deaths. In response, Motive accelerated the deployment of advanced AI models capable of detecting risky behaviors in real-time and alerting operators before minor errors escalate into catastrophic events. Since 2023, Motive estimates its AI Dashcam technology has helped prevent more than 170,000 accidents and saved 1,500 lives.

The three new models extend Motive’s real-time Safety Suite:

1. AI-Powered Lane Drift Detection: Lane drift is linked to 79% of fatigue-related collisions. The new feature flags repeated drifts — three or more in five minutes at speeds above 80 km/h — and compiles them into a single timeline for managers, offering a holistic view of early fatigue patterns. Operator-facing alerts will follow in a future update.

2. AI-Powered Smoking Detection: Smoking behind the wheel removes hands from the steering wheel and eyes from the road for an average of 12 seconds, significantly increasing crash risk. Particularly dangerous in hazmat operations, the feature detects a cigarette in the driver’s hand or mouth for more than five seconds while moving and delivers instant in-cab alerts, alongside notifications for safety managers.

3. AI-Powered Head-In Parking Detection: Head-in parking contributes to low-speed collisions, with almost 9% of pedestrian fatalities in parking lots occurring during reversing incidents. Motive’s new detection sends alerts when vehicles back out of head-in parking spaces, helping organizations enforce safer backing-in practices.

“Before Motive, we could not even see some of these behaviors. Now, unsafe lane changes or tailgating can be coached before they turn into a problem,” says John Riddle, Regional Safety Manager, The Dana Companies.

Motive’s AI Dashcam detects more than 15 unsafe behaviors, including drowsiness, unsafe parking, and forward collision risks. A 2023 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that Motive’s AI Dashcam alerted drivers to unsafe behaviors two to four times more often than competing models. Customers using Motive have reduced collisions by 80% and accident-related costs by 63% on average.

To ensure precision, Motive uses data from over 1 million vehicles and assets, reviewing tens of millions of events each year. Its system includes a one-of-a-kind human-in-the-loop validation process, supported by 400 full-time data annotators, reducing false positives and improving contextual understanding.

In October, Motive announced AI advances to help organizations navigate Mexico’s new CNE-mandated GPS safety and traceability rules, which require fleets transporting combustible products to report real-time GPS data to federal oversight platforms. Failure to comply may result in fines, penalties, or even vehicle impoundment, creating urgent pressure on fleets to modernize.

“These new rules create urgent compliance challenges. Motive’s GPS tracking, document management, and local expertise make it easy to meet requirements while improving daily safety,” says Omar Camacho, General Manager, Motive Mexico.

Motive’s compliance tools include:

• Real-time GPS tracking, offering full visibility of every route and asset

• Integrated document management, which alerts for expirations, inspections, and immediate access to permits and vehicle records

• Mexico-based support through local experts who guide fleets through compliance

Beyond compliance, Motive’s AI Dashcam integrates seamlessly with GPS and document workflows, protecting cargo, operators, and the communities they serve.