How to Ensure the Safety of Your Fleet on the Road

Every fleet manager must ensure the safety of the fleet of vehicles and drivers put in their care. Every organization, irrespective of the sector and company size, depends on a fleet of cars for optimal performance. For instance, for a construction company to meet their target, they need their fleet of machines and vehicles in good condition. Data released from National Security Council shows that 42,060 died from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2020. This figure represents an 8% increase compared to the death rate for 2019. While the death rate from traffic accidents has been on the rise yearly, investigation shows that unsafe driving and the absence of safety policies in most companies has been a significant cause of traffic accidents. 

In this piece, we will be discussing safety tips on how to improve your fleet safety to reduce the accident rate on the road.

Develop Safety Policies

Developing a safety policy is the first step to protecting your fleet from road accidents. One thing you must understand as a fleet manager is that not all drivers understand safety measures while driving. So, when there are no consequences for a damaging company vehicle, some drivers may misuse liberty. Since you must ensure the fleet’s safety, start by developing a straightforward safety policy that every driver working within your organization will comprehend. Part of the safety policy document will capture what is deemed safe and unsafe. Also, include the consequences for failing to adhere to safety policy. 

After you have compiled the safety policies into one piece, you need to meet with the drivers. The meeting agenda will inform the drivers about the new policy, why the policy is necessary, and the anticipated gain from implementing the policy. Before implementing the policy, share the policy document with each driver and ask them for areas they don’t understand. Once there has been a unanimous agreement on the policy, ask each driver to append their signature for future purposes.

Set up an implementation committee 

 Now that you have developed a safety policy for your fleet, you will be needing an implementation committee. The function of the implementation committee is to ensure that everything agreed upon in the safety policy is implemented. The implementation committee size will vary from one organization to another because company size, number of employees, and fleet size is the major determining factor. Aside from monitoring the implementation of the safety policy, the implementation committee also must revise some aspects of the policy that needs revision and amendment.

Have a standby car accident lawyer on your team

Do you know that having a safety policy to protect your drivers and fleet is not enough? Yes, you have a safety policy, which of cause is a beautiful concept. However, there are situations where things don’t just go as planned. Imagine a situation where your driver in El dorado mistakenly gets involved in an accident? Or another road user damage your vehicle? It would be best if you had a car accident lawyer in El Dorado Hills with relative experience in handling car accident cases in any of these situations. In a situation where your drivers are at fault, your lawyer will handle the case to ensure the consequences are minimal on your company. You need the services of an attorney when your drivers are not the cause of the accident or crash. So, instead of waiting for an accident to occur, having an experienced lawyer on traffic accidents on your team will go a long way to reduce the stress of getting a lawyer when an accident happens.

Reward good drivers 

One of the easiest ways to motivate your workers is through reward. Setting up a safety policy for your fleet will be adequate to the extent of its acceptance by the drivers. For instance, if some clique of drivers feels the safety policy is not to their advantage, they may choose to sabotage your reasonable effort. So, to ensure the rank and file among your drivers fall in line, you must make provision for drivers to keep up with the safety policy. You can do this by creating a reward system for drivers that drive safely and have no record of driving recklessly on the road. When your drivers know that will be an incentive for driving safely, they will be motivated to drive more carefully on the road. 

Don’t ignore fleet maintenance

Often, a road traffic accident is not usually caused by the driver’s poor driving skills or reckless driving. There are some cases where the driver is competent, but the vehicle itself is not good. Although every business organization must cut costs and maximize profit, there are situations where the cost-cutting reward is in the short run. So, while you impress on your drivers to avoid driving recklessly on the road, you as a safety manager must need to ensure you carry out routine maintenance on your fleet. Regular maintenance of your fleet will go a long way in ensuring the safety of your drivers and other road users. Also, carrying out a routine check on your fleet will enhance your vehicle’s performance and durability. 

Embrace telematics and safety technology 

If you are in charge of maintaining your organization’s fleet, then it is time you go beyond the analog approach to fleet safety. For instance, if your company has more than one vehicle, it will be practically impossible to know what each driver is doing per time through frequent phone calls to the driver when on transit. However, with telematics and safety technology, you don’t have to call all the time or move everywhere with the driver. Implementing a safety technology policy like telematics lets you know what your drivers are up to when driving. With this technological tool, you can know which driver is going beyond the speed limit, pressing the phone while moving or pressing the brake harshly. 

To be successful in reducing your fleet accident rate, you need a safety policy. However, the extent to which the policy will be successful is dependent on your driving team. So, to ensure your well-designed safety policy work as imagined, you need everyone, both drivers and non-drivers, on the board. 

Furthermore, it would be best to have a lawyer with experience in handling traffic accident cases on your team. With their expertise on the job, your lawyer is in an excellent position to help you understand the position of the law regarding traffic laws. Also, you will always need a lawyer to provide legal services to your organization, especially when dealing with traffic accident claims and compensation in the open court or arbitration.