Motor vehicle accidents are the 9th leading cause of workplace injuries. They also cost organizations a fortune.
A robust fleet safety program reduces work-related accidents and vehicle downtime, saving the company time and money. Insurance companies will also pay attention to a company’s comprehensive safety policies, which leads to lower premiums.
Vehicle Inspections
The primary goal of a fleet safety program is to protect employees from accidents and injuries on the job. This is achieved through a thorough inspection policy that ensures every employee who gets behind the wheel of a company vehicle is fully prepared for their journey.
Developing an effective safety program requires commitment from management and all employees that drive company vehicles. This means ensuring all drivers know the protocol and can easily access the proper resources to resolve issues or concerns.
Regular fleet inspections help businesses optimize their routing, minimize unplanned downtime, and enhance efficiency. This translates into cost savings, higher customer satisfaction, and less overall vehicle wear and tear.
Driver Training
Fleet safety policies are crucial for certifying the health and efficiency of vehicles and ensuring employees understand them. Accidents on the job can lead to workers’ compensation costs, injuries, lost time, and significant fines that could financially ruin an organization.
All drivers should receive comprehensive training covering general fleet safety procedures and best practices to avoid these outcomes. Additionally, this training should include behind-the-wheel instruction so drivers can learn to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios.
Every driver must receive this training from a qualified instructor who can effectively communicate the importance of safety protocols and provide individualized instruction. This will help ensure that all drivers understand and follow these guidelines moving forward.
Vehicle Maintenance
Creating and implementing a vehicle fleet safety policy is crucial for any company with vehicles in its business. Routine inspections and preventative maintenance can significantly decrease the risk of work-related accidents caused by poorly functioning equipment and reduce operational expenditures from unplanned breakdowns.
Fleet safety protocols often involve a wide range of different areas within a business, including pre-employment screening processes, driver training programs, and even mobile phone policies that ban texting and phone use while driving. When these guidelines are established, enforced, and backed by company leadership, drivers will likely adhere to them.
Fleet safety guidelines should also cover more unexpected aspects of fleet management, like the maintenance and inspection of less traditional vehicles, such as all-terrain utility vehicles, riding lawnmowers, or self-propelled snow blowers.
Emergency Preparedness
A company’s fleet is an important asset, and managers must create a formal safety program for their mobile assets. It should include comprehensive policies that protect employees, prevent accidents and limit liability from vehicle crashes.
This policy should include a thorough checklist of procedures for handling various emergency scenarios. It should be based on the results of a risk assessment and should be consistent with performance objectives.
This includes protecting the safety and health of employees during natural disasters such as floods, blizzards, hurricanes, or tornadoes, as well as manufactured disasters like chemical spills and fires. It also means having employees trained to perform first aid and evacuation procedures and establishing communication channels for employees during emergencies and disasters.
Maintenance Records
As a business owner, a fleet safety program is one of the most critical areas to focus on. After all, a single auto accident can cause multi-million dollar losses to your business.
Management must establish that accident prevention is a crucial company priority to create a successful fleet safety program. This can be accomplished by drafting a written fleet safety policy and having it signed by the CEO or president of your business.
The policy should also include a detailed vehicle maintenance schedule for inspections, servicing, and repairs. It should cover every employee who drives a company vehicle and those who drive rented vehicles or personal cars and trucks for business purposes. A progressive disciplinary system should also be documented for drivers who fail to follow company fleet safety protocol.
Vehicle Maintenance Software
A robust fleet safety system can be a game-changer for companies in the transport industry. A clear policy centered on safety helps ensure all employees, from professional drivers to fleet dispatchers to management, are aligned with company guidelines and held accountable for upholding them.
Implementing these guiding principles can also lower insurance premiums, reduce repair costs, and help your business to maintain its good reputation with customers. Additionally, a well-maintained fleet is more reliable and can complete deliveries on time, boosting customer satisfaction.
Automating these fleet safety protocols through digitized processes can reduce the paperwork needed, which is excellent for the environment.
Driver Monitoring
Keeping your fleet safe isn’t just about hiring the right people and maintaining your vehicles. It also starts with ensuring your drivers know what’s expected of them on the road. Careless driving is a leading cause of on-road incidents, and establishing clear fleet safety protocols is the best way to minimize risk.
The most effective driver monitoring strategies include an effective pre-hire screening process and frequent, ongoing training programs based on defensive driving techniques. You should limit who can drive company cars, trucks, and even small vehicles like all-terrain utility vehicles or riding lawnmowers to only authorized employees.
You can also implement telematics systems in your vehicles for more precise driver performance and behavior data. This helps you identify non-compliance areas and makes enforcing your fleet safety policies easier.
