The End of Daylight Saving Time: Tips for Fleet Drivers
24 Oct 2017Daylight saving time comes to an end on Sunday, November 5, 2017 at 2:00 a.m. This signals longer nights and more hours of darkness in a given day. For fleet drivers, this means increased dangers on the road.
Keeping your drivers safe, is one of your top priorities as a fleet manager. These are some of the dangers your drivers will face once there are more hours of darkness in the day and what you can do to help.
Fatigue
Your drivers don’t have to be on lengthy trips to experience fatigue while driving, but longer trips can exacerbate tiredness behind the wheel. According to the National Safety Council, reported that the majority of fatigue-related accidents and near misses occur between the hours of midnight and 2:00 a.m., 4:00 and 6:00 a.m., and 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. When this is exacerbated by things like darkness, poorer vision at night, and other distractions it can become a recipe for disaster on the road.
Encourage your drivers to get between seven and nine hours of sleep before getting behind the wheel, stopping every two hours to give themselves a break, and pulling over for a nap if they are too drowsy to continue. Practices like these will save lives, spare cargo, and keep your drivers alert so they can return home safely.
Impaired Night Vision
As you age, your night vision decreases. This means you’ll need more light to see as well as younger drivers on the road. While there is little you can do about your driver’s vision other than provide outstanding vision coverage and encouraging yearly exams, there are things you can do to improve the lighting. The National Safety Council recommends the following to combat night vision impairments: clean headlights, taillights, etc. weekly – or more often if necessary; ensure that headlights are properly aimed, and instruct drivers to reduce speed and following distances while driving at night.
Install GPS Tracking Software
GPS fleet tracking can be used for far more than providing directions. It can help you track the number of hours your drivers are behind the wheel and how frequently they take breaks while driving. It can even signal you, and send alerts, if drivers are showing signs of sleepy or distracted driving, driving too fast at night, and various other risky behaviors behind the wheel.
Keeping your drivers safe at night is a priority as daylight saving time approaches when nights grow longer and may seem endless to drivers on the road. These tips will help you keep your drivers safer while on the road.
Looking to boost your fleet’s productivity, reduce fleet fuel and maintenance costs, and improve fleet drivers driving? Take a look out LiveViewGPS fleet tracking products, like the Fleet Tracker OBD.
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