Safety is probably the utmost aspect that fleets have to concern themselves with. Not only do accidents cause bad publicity for the organization, but they also result in greater insurance premiums, lawsuits from injured parties, downtime if the vehicle was damaged or needs to be inspected before going back out on the road, as well as no productivity occurring during that period. Simply put, not being safe is a negative to the bottom line of any fleet. Here are some things that you, as a fleet leader, can do to make all is as safe as possible.
Background Checks on Drivers
As a manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that all drivers hired by you have a clean driving record, at the bare minimum. This should extend to drivers who were employed before your tenure as well. In addition to driving history, they should also be able to pass a criminal background check as well as a drug and alcohol screening. While crimes or incidents long in the past should not have a bearing on whether you hire the driver, they may prevent the driver from being able to be present on certain properties or from entering certain countries, so this should be kept in mind.
Driver Training
Even when a driver has a clean driving history, this does not automatically mean that they have experience driving the types of trucks that your company uses. This is why there should be an in-depth driving program in place so that all drivers are on the same page. Every driver on your team should be able to drive any truck in your fleet.
Dashboard Cameras
When dashcams were first introduced to the truck driving community, they were generally met with resistance. Some drivers likened their presence to being spied upon by their employer. However, once it became known that they could actually back up a driver if someone falsely accused the driver in regards to an accident. They are also known to go a long way toward lowering insurance premiums. If you are interested in learning more about dashcam benefits or upgrading the ones that you already have in place, check out this guide that informs fleet managers on how to use dashcams to have more control over their fleet safety for the business.
Well-Maintained Vehicles
It should go without saying that trucks should be kept on a routine maintenance schedule, yet sometimes fleet managers can fail to keep up on this aspect. Trucks that have fallen into a state of disrepair play a huge role in accident claims filed against a company. Every vehicle should have a maintenance record that is easily accessible to review and should be kept on a schedule to ensure minor issues do not develop into big problems.
Scorecards
Keeping track of individual driver’s performances via digital scorecards is a great way to bolster safety within the company. Positive driving behavior can be rewarded either monetarily or non-monetarily. When drivers see their good work being rewarded, they are also more likely to want to continue this positive behavior.
