Safety
Improve the safety of your employees and the public.
When your drivers are reckless in company vehicles the consequences go far beyond just monetary, they can be fatal. So, there’s no question why safety is the number one challenge businesses with fleets of vehicles, trailers, and other equipment look to solve. Issues with safety range from unsafe driver behavior, vehicle accidents and your business’s liability for those accidents, and ensuring the safety of your employees and the public.
What’s your biggest challenge with safety?
Poor Driver Behavior
Too Many Accidents
Worried About Employee Safety
Concerned About Public Safety
Driver Behavior
Speeding. Harsh stops. Rapid acceleration. Cornering. You are likely familiar with these buzzwords in relation to driver behavior, but what is the real impact of not fixing the way your employees operate your vehicles?
According to the Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for all ages. The real impact is that your drivers may cause a fatal accident if they speed when running late, make harsh stops when distracted, or rapidly accelerate in traffic.
The issue for most businesses is less about understanding the damaging consequences of unsafe driving but finding the best way to hold drivers accountable.
What’s the Impact?
Here are a few questions to consider as you research possible solutions to solve this challenge.
Which negative driver behavior is the most common in your fleet? Are accidents occurring because drivers are distracted or driving aggressively?
Is driver behavior a part of your safety policy? How do you hold drivers accountable if they don’t follow the policy?
Who are the safest drivers in your fleet? Who are the least safe drivers? How are safe drivers being rewarded for their good behavior?
Accidents and Liability
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driver error causes 94% of all vehicle collisions. Along with the physical and psychological consequences accidents cause to all parties, they can also have far-reaching financial liability for your business if your drivers are found to be the negligent party.
No business wants their drivers to be put in harm’s way on the road, but safety also makes good business sense. Creating a culture of safety reduces costs associated with insurance claims, legal expenses, and fines and repairs in the event of a collision.
What’s the Impact?
Here are a few questions to consider as you research possible solutions to solve this challenge.
When your driver is found to be at fault for an accident, how much vehicle property damage and liability insurance costs does your business pay out?
How much fringe benefit costs do you pay for the injury of an employee after an accident?
What is the total crash-related legal expenses for your business after an accident?
Employee Safety
Ensuring employees’ well-being is the most significant reason to start a safety initiative. Your drivers are on the road on a daily basis, so if your business does not have a good way to monitor driver behavior and ensure company vehicles are in good working condition, your employees’ safety may be in jeopardy on a daily basis.
Along with day-to-day driver safety, another challenge businesses face is preparing for the unexpected, like when a natural disaster hits. If employees are working in a widespread service area, when a natural disaster hits, your business has a responsibility to locate these employees and ensure they reach safety. Pinpointing all vehicle locations and notifying every employee to evacuate on a mass scale proves to be a significant challenge, but it’s a necessary one to prevent injuries and fatalities.
What’s the Impact?
Here are a few questions to consider as you research possible solutions to solve this challenge.
Have you experienced a vehicle accident that resulted in an employee fatality? What was the cause of the accident?
What is your business’s protocol when an employee gets into an accident? How quickly and specifically can you pinpoint their location?
Has your business been affected by a natural disaster? How would you rate your disaster preparedness and ability to ensure employee safety during this event?
Public Safety
Along with ensuring employee safety, it is also important for your business to ensure the safety of the residents in your community.
While your business can write safety policies, screen new employees, and verify drivers’ qualifications before allowing them behind the wheel of company vehicles, you may still be experiencing unsafe driver behavior because you are unable to measure it or hold drivers accountable.
Your vehicles are driving billboards for your business. Along with the potential to put the public in harm’s way, it will ultimately hurt your bottom line if your brand is associated with accidents, fatalities, and poor driving habits.
What’s the Impact?
Here are a few questions to consider as you research possible solutions to solve this challenge.
How are you collecting feedback on driver behavior in the field? Do you rely on members of the community to call in? How frequently do you receive these calls?
If your business receives a call from a concerned citizen that one of your vehicles was being driven recklessly, how do you verify whether or not it is true?
Has negative brand recognition due to safety lost you a customer’s business? What is the revenue equivalency?