June is Safety Month: Expert Advice for Your Fleet Safety

Introduction

Safety and security are always a priority in fleet management. When it comes to your company’s fleet of vehicles, it’s only natural that you’d want to keep employees as safe as possible — both in and out of the driver’s seat.

Often, safety is overlooked in fleet operations because fleet drivers are regularly busy with other tasks, such as maximizing productivity or efficiency. However, no matter what kind of fleet you have or what specific job your drivers do, it’s essential to keep safety in mind.

In 1996, the National Safety Council launched a campaign to promote awareness of the leading safety and health risks that increase during the summer months. As a result, Wheels Donlen would like to take this month as an opportunity to share ideas with our clients and partners about how they can make their fleets safer for everyone involved.

Why It’s Critical to Have a Specific Safety Component in Your Fleet Policy

When it comes to the safety of your employees and customers, you don’t want to take any chances. In today’s litigious society, fleets plan for the worst and hope for the best. It’s no longer enough to simply have a policy in place; it needs to be one that clearly outlines what will happen if something goes wrong, such as an accident or injury.

A specific safety component in your fleet policy will outline what happens when something unfortunate happens (like an accident or injury). It’ll make clear what actions need to be taken, along with the reasons behind those actions. This provides documentation of everything you’ve done—and it helps bolster protection for your organization.

Fleets have many things to worry about, but accidents and injuries can be the most costly. You need to make sure that any time an accident happens, it’s documented and proof of your company’s due diligence exists.

Avoiding Potential Accidents Saves Money and Lives

Drivers are the most important asset for any fleet operation. They’re responsible for transporting goods and people from one place to another, which means that their safety is essential for the success of your company.

Accidents can do a lot more than just damage your vehicle or injure your driver — they also cost money. If you want your drivers to be as safe as possible, you need to monitor their driving patterns and provide the training they need to do their jobs safely.

Typically, companies run Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) once per year, but now we’re seeing an uptick in companies running MVRs more than once per year. This allows fleet managers to identify areas where their drivers need training or intervention.

The goal of this program isn’t so much to reprogram 20 years’ worth of driving, but it is designed to create positive changes in the way drivers make decisions behind the wheel – and that can save lives and money. If you can turn an accident into a near-miss, that’s $80,000 saved from a cost perspective. And if you can prevent an accident from happening altogether, that’s even better.

How to Engage Drivers to Be Safer Behind the Wheel

There are many ways a fleet can improve safety behind the wheel. One of the easiest ways to improve driver behavior is by implementing a small rewards program, with a structure similar to how warehouses track the number of days since their last incident.

A rewards program is not a new concept, but it has become more popular as companies look for ways to reduce costs associated with accidents and injuries. The biggest challenge is getting management to buy into the idea that it’s worth doing. Typically, rewards programs have a negative stigma, “I shouldn’t have to pay my drivers additionally for something they should be doing from the start.” But what is the cost of implementing a small rewards program as opposed to paying for an accident? It’s a small price to minimize costly accidents.

If management believes that there’s value in having more engaged and safer drivers on the road, then it becomes much easier to get buy-in from them and start rolling out these programs across your fleet.

Rewards programs are a great way for businesses to acknowledge the hard work their drivers put in to keeping their vehicles in good condition and following traffic laws on their routes.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these tips have been helpful, and that they inspire you to review your fleet’s safety programs or start new ones. The fact is that your fleet’s safety record is a large component of your brand’s reputation. Your customers want to know that they are getting a safe experience when they hire your company.

Any steps toward safer driving and a safer roadway are ones worth taking – and Wheels Donlen is here to help. If you need a partner to help lower your accident rates while improving the safety of your drivers and vehicles, please contact us.