Interactive Driving Systems, which provides fleet driver safety management solutions through its Virtual Risk Manager (VRM) platform, has been acquired by US online driver education specialist eDriving for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition came at the same time as eDriving’s acquisition of Mentor eData, a consumer-focused telematics app and analytics provider, with the firm saying that the combined companies form a leading driver training and risk reduction business “with a mission of training consumer and professional drivers to be the best and safest they can be and evolving crash-free operating cultures for corporations worldwide”.

It added that the new eDriving enterprise, which has more than 700,000 fleet drivers in 97 countries, using courses in 45 languages, “emerges as the only company providing a full suite of driver training solutions, including a closed-loop solution combining telematics, other driver inputs, interactive online content, and virtual coaching services with licensed instructors to improve driving behavior and lower risk”.

“These acquisitions fast-track our vision of offering a full suite of solutions that maximise road safety and constructively empower personal and professional drivers to better control what is happening when they are behind the wheel. If you want safer family cars and lower fleet operating costs with more predictable insurance rates, you need sharper focus on the driver,” said Celia Stokes, CEO of eDriving.

Speaking on the acquisition of Interactive Driving Systems, she added: “It’s an honor to be combining forces with a best-in-class provider in driver risk reduction strategies that has created meaningful, crash-free cultures for such an impressive set of worldwide corporate customers. I have spoken with many of these customers and the value they place on ensuring their employee drivers return home safely to their loved ones every day is palpable and foundational — as is their reliance on and trust in Interactive Driving Systems.”

“We already have a pipeline of customers who see the combination of entities as greater than the sum of the parts and are ready to engage more deeply,” added Ed Dubens, the founder and CEO of Interactive Driving Systems who becomes executive vice president of newly formed eDriving Fleet, LLC and will continue to drive all operations and strategy for the fleet business line. “Driver safety is, indeed, poised for fundamental change.”

Personnel changes will also see Steve Lakowske, founder and CEO of Mentor eData, join as a senior executive in eDriving’s telematics team, bringing established customer relationships from the insurance and international mapping services markets.