New Study: Nauto's Predictive Risk Fusion Alerts Drivers to Dangerous Driving Situations Sooner When They Are Distracted, Giving Them More Time to Avoid Collisions
Independent Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) study shows up to 100% in-cab alert success rate for distracted drivers, including texting, using Nauto's AI-powered Predictive Risk Fusion technology
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nauto Inc., the leader in AI-powered safety and operations excellence for commercial vehicles, announced the results of a second third-party performance study conducted in December 2024 by The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)1, a globally recognized authority in transportation research. The study evaluated Nauto's Predictive Risk Fusion technology, which combines in-cab driver monitoring and external road hazard detection, simultaneously and in real-time. Nauto's system is designed to deliver faster, more accurate predictive collision alerts – a capability not found in any other fleet safety technology on the market.2
Key performance findings in daytime conditions3 include:
- Up to 90% in-cab alert success rate for distracted driving scenarios when approaching a target
- 87% of alerts in distracted driving scenarios delivered prior to the swerve zone to help drivers avoid a collision
- 10% faster alert speed to prevent a collision with a stationary object when the driver was distracted
The VTTI test simulated high-risk driving scenarios using a light-duty vehicle and included both attentive and texting driver conditions. In two of three daytime test scenarios, Nauto delivered faster alerts to the distracted driver when compared to the attentive driver, giving them more time to respond and avoid a collision. These multi-factor alerts, calculated in milliseconds, can provide critical road distance for collision avoidance, particularly in distraction scenarios where time is most limited.
Nauto analyzed over 6 billion AI-monitored miles from its customers and believes that giving drivers more time to react to a potentially dangerous situation helps prevent or reduce the severity of collisions, leading to collision loss reduction of up to 80%. Nauto believes that predictive collision alerts can provide critical extra reaction time that forward collision warnings from ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) offerings, which lack Nauto's unique Predictive Risk Fusion capabilities, cannot. By helping drivers mitigate and avoid collisions, the Nauto solution may also reduce the cost and criticality of collisions with vulnerable road users (VRUs), reducing fatalities and serious injuries while helping fleets avoid multi-million dollar nuclear verdicts. Nauto has conducted their own analysis on when an alert is warranted and what type of alert to sound based on a holistic view of situational risk in order to grant drivers a better experience, gain more trust in the system, and ultimately become safer drivers.
"VTTI's latest research validates that Nauto's Predictive Risk Fusion technology doesn't just detect dangerous situations, it predicts them," said Dr. Stefan Heck, CEO of Nauto. "In real-world driving, every extra tenth of a second matters and translates into room for drivers to brake or swerve to avoid collisions. By simultaneously recognizing driver behaviors and external risks, we're giving drivers the extra time they need to stay safe and fleets a proven way to reduce losses and lower insurance costs."
To learn more about Nauto's AI fleet safety solution with Predictive Risk Fusion or to view the full VTTI report, visit https://nauto.com/vtti/risk-fusion-overview.
1 VTTI does not endorse any products.
2 Based on available materials.
3 For all results, including daytime and nighttime performance, please download the full study report from VTTI.
Methodology: VTTI has a dash cam assessment protocol used in both studies. VTTI evaluated performance by calculating rates of in-cabin audible alerts, rates of alerts recorded on the virtual platform's dashboard, and time to alert (TTA) from the start of the tested driving behavior or from time to collision, depending on the test scenario.
Disclaimer: This research was funded by Nauto. Although care has been taken to ensure complete and accurate study results, recipients of this document accept the possibility of unintended errors or omissions. The results expressed in this document are based on data collected from September 20, 2024, through December 12, 2024, under specific testing conditions that may not apply to other circumstances. VTTI does not endorse any products included or not included in this study.
About Nauto®
Nauto is a leader in AI-powered safety and operations excellence for commercial fleets. Nauto simplifies day-to-day operations by consolidating driver and fleet safety, risk, and core telematics in a driver-friendly platform. Nauto's real-time safety solution with Predictive Risk Fusion, built upon more than 6 billion AI-processed driving miles, delivers superior loss reduction outcomes, and provides advanced pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist detection and collision alerting. With Nauto, fleets are able to foster a culture of performance excellence as demonstrated by reduced collisions, costs, risk, and driver training and churn. Nauto is trusted by over 1,000 fleets worldwide and customers across multiple industry verticals have seen up to an 80% collision reduction.
About The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)
For over 30 years, The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) has been a globally recognized leader in transportation research. VTTI conducts research to save lives, time, and money and protect the environment. As one of seven premier research institutes created by Virginia Tech to answer national challenges, VTTI is continually advancing transportation through innovation and has affected public policy on national and international levels.
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SOURCE Nauto