Retail Trade

Tire Discounter Group reduces distracted driving by 97% after switching to Samsara

By moving from Motive to Samsara's connected platform, Tire Discounter Group improved visibility into driver behaviour, strengthened compliance, and reduced risk as the business scaled.

Two Tire Discounter Group Trucks outside of warehouse.

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Meet Tire Discounter Group

85+ DRIVERS

90+ VEHICLES

7 DISTRIBUTION CENTRES

The Challenge

As operations grew, gaps in compliance, support, and visibility emerged

Tire Discounter Group (TDG) is a family-owned and operated tire and wheel distribution business that has served Ontario for more than 55 years. As a just-in-time wholesaler, TDG distributes tires to dealerships and garages across the province, delivering anywhere from once a day to hourly depending on the market. With seven distribution centres located across East Garafraxa, Barrie, Ottawa, Hamilton, Oakville, Toronto, and London, the company depends on consistent, compliant fleet operations to meet customer expectations.

Managing compliance became more complex following the introduction of the Canadian electronic logging device (ELD) mandate. At the time, the fleet relied on Motive for ELD compliance. While the system met baseline regulatory requirements, challenges with usability made it difficult for drivers to consistently log and manage their hours. As day-to-day operations intensified—particularly during the peak winter tire season in October, November, and December, which accounts for roughly 40% of TDG's annual business—the risk of errors increased.

"We were getting a lot of complaints about the Motive system," said Rob Keller, Fleet and Logistics Manager at TDG. "Drivers were having a hard time understanding the app, and we ended up with a couple of CVOR fines."

When compliance issues did arise, resolving them quickly proved challenging. "We struggled to get quick responses from Motive and they could take up to 48 hours, if they responded at all," Keller said. "And often when we did hear back the answers weren't clear."

As TDG worked through these challenges, they began to recognize a separate but related gap in their safety program. Without dash cams installed across the fleet, the team lacked on-road context around driver behaviour and incidents. This made it difficult to fully understand risk, support drivers in the moment, or take a consistently proactive approach to safety—prompting them to explore solutions that could provide greater on-road visibility as the business scaled.

The Solution

Switching to Samsara delivered clarity and confidence at scale

After a period of evaluation and hands-on testing with the Samsara team, Tire Discounter Group made the decision to replace Motive with Samsara. The switch was guided by a clear set of priorities: reducing safety incidents, improving operational visibility, and investing in a platform—and partner—that could grow alongside their business.

Early testing helped the team understand what greater visibility could look like in practice. By introducing Dual-Facing AI Dash Cams during the evaluation, TDG was able to see driver behaviour and on-road events with a level of insight they didn’t have before. “The cameras really opened our eyes to some of the issues that we were having,” said Keller. “The clarity we were getting from the Samsara cameras was perfect—we didn’t even see a need to evaluate others.”

Alongside those immediate gains, Samsara’s use of AI stood out as a signal of how the platform would continue to evolve over time—an important consideration for TDG’s Chief Operating Officer. Recalling the COO’s perspective, Keller said, “Samsara has AI, Samsara is using it, and Samsara is changing with it: that’s the company we want to partner with.” For TDG, this reinforced confidence that Samsara would adapt as operational needs changed, rather than remain static.

Following the evaluation, TDG moved quickly to deploy Samsara across more than 90 vehicles. Installation was completed internally, taking approximately 20 minutes per vehicle, allowing the team to complete deployment with minimal disruption. “Installation was really pain free,” said Keller. “We had all of our vehicles up and running within a week and a half.”

When comparing solutions—including hardware, video, and compliance tools—overall value also factored into the company’s decision. “When we compared the entire solution to Motive, it was cheaper to go with Samsara,” said Keller.

In addition to deployment and cost, the switch delivered immediate improvements in reliability and support. “We now have had no issues with reliability,” said Keller. “I can always see the fleet and have never lost sight of a unit.” With response times dropping from days to hours, the team felt better equipped to address issues quickly as operations continued to scale.

Cameras & Video

Reducing distracted driving by 97% and speeding by 67% in the first six months

In the first six months after rolling out Samsara's Dual-Facing AI Dash Cams, Tire Discounter Group reduced distracted driving events by 97% and speeding by 67%, helping lower insurance exposure and avoid CVOR-related fines. Quick access to video evidence also enabled the team to exonerate drivers, streamline insurance claims, and save thousands of dollars per incident by reducing the time and cost associated with investigations.

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Workforce Management

Strengthening safety performance through coaching and recognition

Since switching to Samsara, Tire Discounter Group has not recorded a single CVOR infraction and has significantly elevated driver safety performance across the fleet. With clearer expectations and consistent coaching in place, performance improved steadily, with more than 20 drivers achieving perfect safety scores in less than six months.

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Fleet Telematics

Improving maintenance planning and reducing unexpected downtime

By using Samsara's fleet telematics, Tire Discounter Group improved visibility into vehicle health and maintenance needs, allowing the team to move from reactive repairs to proactive planning. This shift has helped to reduce unexpected downtime and improve coordination between maintenance and operations—keeping vehicles on the road and deliveries on schedule.

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Tire Discounter Group truck in a warehouse with black tires on orange shelves in the background.

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