Improving Unsafe Fleet Driver Habits
2 Dec 2014Fleet owners have important responsibilities to their customers, the greater public they serve, and the men and women who drive the goods on your behalf. Improving safety among your drivers is chief among those responsibilities as it helps to make the roadways safer for everyone – including your drivers.
Of course, the big question is where you even begin improving unsafe fleet driver habits. This list will give you a rundown of things you can do to improve driver safety among your fleet drivers.
Establish Written Policies Regarding Bad Driver Habits
This policy needs to be inclusive and updated often. The policy needs to outline the positive driving policies, while also establishing rewards for good driver behavior and consequences for drivers who do not follow the policy – including the loss of a job. All drivers need to be educated about the policy and sign statements affirming that they have read and understand the policy at least twice a year.
What should the policies include?
There are many issues your safe driving policy needs to address, including the following:
Aggressive Driving Policies
Distracted Driving
Mobile Phone Usage
Safe Distance
Sleepy Driving
Snow and Ice Safety
Speeding
And more!
The key is to update the policy regularly so that everyone is on the same page and in order to make
changes easily as bad habits or potential problems present themselves.
Adopt GPS Tracking in All Fleet Vehicles
This goes hand in hand with creating positive driver habit policies as it directly aids in the enforcement of those policies. GPS tracking allows you to follow the route of the driver as he or she is in motion from start to finish. Erratic driving patterns, speeding, and even deviations from the prescribed route will show up immediately. With GPS fleet tracking, fleet owners and/or managers can even set up email or text message alerts that notify them instantly when these things occur.
Not only does this provide motivation for drivers to drive responsibly, but it also helps to establish the safety of their driving if an accident should occur and there are questions about your driver’s responsibility or role in that crash.
Sponsor Driver Safety Events
It’s important to educate and train your drivers about safety and the reason for the policies you’ve created. Understanding why policies are in place helps drivers respect those policies more.
Safety event topics to cover include:
- Harsh Acceleration
- Harsh Braking
- Harsh Cornering
- Speeding
- Stop Sign Violations
Include facts and numbers too. For instance, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, nearly one third of all traffic fatalities are speeding related.
The costs of unsafe driver habits go well beyond the price associated with repairing vehicles and paying higher insurance rates. They cut into public perception and place your business at risk of massive lawsuits. An ounce of prevention is worth so much more than its weight in gold – even at today’s high prices.
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