Are Your Professional Drivers Safe On The Road?

If you are running any kind of business that requires people to drive for work, deliver goods, or just commute to the office, it is important that you encourage them to stay safe on the road, especially if they are using your fleet, and your business name is on the vehicle. You will not only have to face criminal charges if there is an accident, but can also lose your reputation. Just imagine if you ran a delivery company and your main client found out that your drivers are dangerous on the road. Would they want to work with you? The answer is no.

Get Them Trained

It is your responsibility to make sure that your drivers are safe on the road. This means that you will need to provide them with professional training. No matter if they have a license and have been driving similar vehicles for a while, if they took a break, or there is a new technology to get used to, they will need an updated training so they can handle every situation confidently, and make the most out of the safety features available.

Regular Testing

It might also be a good idea to schedule regular testing for your drivers, so they can prove that they are aware of the latest regulations and can follow the rules. Unfortunately, not knowing the law doesn’t take away your responsibility, so you need to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to staying safe and keeping the public safe as well. You might talk to a fleet training company that will carry out the testing and create reports.

Fleet Insurance

It is crucial that you get fleet insurance, so you can deal with emergencies and situations when your drivers are clearly not at fault, but you might still take the blame if you could not afford to hire a professional truck accident attorney. Having a fleet insurance will also give you the peace of mind that you can deal with all necessary repairs in a timely manner, and get all the safety checks recorded, so you can prove that you acted with due diligence.

Policies

It is also important that you create your own policies when it comes to driving to and from work and carrying out deliveries. You need to list the things that your employees should not do while driving, and make sure that there is adequate supervision. You will have to equip every vehicle with a hands free kit, so you can encourage your drivers to talk on the phone without holding their phone and getting distracted. Talk to a safety expert if you are not sure how to craft your company policies.

Tracking

One of the things you can do to monitor your drivers’ behavior behind the wheel without invading their privacy is tracking your fleet. This way, you will know where they are stopping, what is their average speed, and whether or not they are carrying out too many emergency stops. This could be an indication that they need to update their planning skills, so they are not damaging their vehicle, wearing out parts before time, and are able to drive in the most efficient way possible.

Dash Cam

To protect your company from false claims and to ensure that you have proof in case one of your vehicles is involved in an accident, you might want to install a dash cam. You will be surprised how people’s behavior changes on the roads when they see that they are being recorded. This is an investment into road safety that is worth it, no matter if you are installing the device on commercial trucks or company cars.

License Checks

When you take on people to drive your company vehicles, you will of course check their license. However, what happens after can remain a mystery. If they get points on their drivers’ license while they are driving their own car, they are not necessarily going to disclose this information. Some people would not even tell you about their driving bans, fearing that they would lose their job. However, if they are caught driving one of your vehicles without a valid license, you will still be legally responsible.

Evaluations

You cannot just rely on test results when it comes to driving assessments. It might be a good idea to engage with a driving expert to evaluate your employees behind the wheel. Just because someone has been driving for a while, it doesn’t mean that they are good at it and can stay safe. Ask for a professional opinion, so you can make a decision whether or not it is worth to take a risk or you need to invest in further training.

Customer Feedback

One’s behavior behind the wheel is not only related to their driving. If you are providing delivery services to your customers, you have to collect feedback on the manner and behavior of your employees. If they are rude and ignorant, your business will suffer, as well as your reputation. There are some simple apps that will automatically collect feedback from your customers after the delivery is complete, and you can create an advanced evaluation on all your drivers and intervene if their customer service is not up to your standards.

Speed Limits

It is crucial that you don’t spend your profits on speeding tickets and on-the-spot fines. You can actually equip your vehicles with a speed limit feature, so you can be sure that your drivers are not able to break the law driving a car or truck with your signage. While you might have advanced policies, you cannot monitor every driver 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Limiting the vehicle’s speed is a good way of making sure your drivers are not collecting speeding tickets regularly.

There are plenty of ways you can damage your reputation employing the wrong people or not monitoring your employes’ behavior behind the wheel.