Regardless of size, every fleet business should invest in the safety of its workers and equipment. A fleet safety program is used by fleet managers to ensure road safety for both drivers and vehicles.
A fleet safety program may include company policies designed to monitor and mitigate poor driver behavior, training to improve drivers' road performance, and rewards to motivate team performance.
Fleet managers must have a reliable fleet safety program to mitigate company risk, protect employees, and improve road safety for citizens. Let’s take a look at the key elements of an efficient fleet safety program.
The Key Elements of an Efficient Fleet Safety Program
As you draft your fleet safety program, consider the following elements to ensure you create a safe working environment for your staff.
1. Team Building
To establish the best fleet safety program, you should identify all team members and establish how often they use business vehicles. This will make it easier to hold each employee accountable for vehicle damages or poor driving behavior.
2. Road Safety Policies and Guidelines
Drivers who aren’t held accountable for company vehicle damages may be more reckless. By installing tracking devices on your vehicles, you can track driver behavior, and check in with them about the results.
In your fleet safety program, each driver should serve as the first line of defense. That means the driver should ensure the vehicle is safe, clean, and free of damage. You can train your drivers on monitoring the vehicle's exterior condition, functionality, and overall drivability, then analyze the tracking data on a regular cadence, and during performance reviews.
3. Road Safety Rules
Accidents can cost your company greatly. Before assigning your driver a vehicle, you must ensure they are qualified and experienced to drive. The driver must be cognizant of and compliant with all road safety rules.
Remind all drivers they must comply with the company's fleet safety procedures and hold them accountable in the event of reckless driving. You can also impose penalties on drivers who fail to observe the safety protocol in your company.
Document all the rules and penalties on road safety and ensure each driver has a copy for reference.
4. Manage Accidents
Accidents happen, and it’s important to examine the causes of a crash before penalizing a driver. However, the truth is that drivers can avoid most road accidents by following key road safety rules and company policies. To mitigate accident costs, develop a fleet safety program that lays out these rules and policies clearly.
Come up with an accident response plan indicating all activities that should follow in case of an accident. Ask your drivers to document and retain evidence in case of accidents; this can be useful when seeking compensation from your insurer.
5. Proper Scheduling
It is easy tracking vehicle use in your company if you have an efficient schedule in place.
A streamlined schedule is designed to provide drivers with enough time to complete trips without rushing. Speeding is a punishable traffic offense that can cost your business a lot of money, if not accidents.
A flexible driver schedule deals with unforeseen events and ensures your drivers work at the desired time.
6. Driver Identification
With identification cards, you can better track which employees are using business vehicles and for what purpose.
Issue each driver an identification card. With this type of identification, only those authorized to drive the vehicle can access the vehicle during working hours.
7. Behavior Monitoring
An efficient fleet safety program must include behavior monitoring, as many accidents result from driver misconduct. When drivers are trained on road safety protocol, you can mitigate the risk of accidents and reduce the cost of accident-related damages. You can use tracking devices or software to assess driver behavior; monitor braking, current location, speeding, and other useful insights to establish each driver's efficiency and productivity when driving.
You should also ensure each driver understands vehicle maintenance policies using mandatory training sessions.
Final Thoughts
A refined fleet safety program can help lower all costs related to vehicle use. Take the time to develop safety policies, an accident response plan, a vehicle maintenance plan, and a proper driver scheduling for your team - and reap the rewards.
