It’s the call no fleet manager wants to take. Your driver, thankfully unharmed, is at the side of the road while the police arrange for his written-off truck to be hauled away. Great – a vehicle out of commission and to top it off, your fleet insurance premiums are only going north.
To help prevent such a scenario occurring, there are a number of steps you can introduce to improve driving standards, boost your safety record and make your company a more attractive prospect to insurers. Here, we’ve rounded up five of the most effective measures.
1 Start with a detailed risk assessment
This should be a regular undertaking to make sure anyone who gets behind the wheel of a company vehicle knows the standards expected of them, as well as exactly what to do in the event of an accident occurring. Many insurers will ask to see the resulting employee guidelines, as this will help them to form a picture of how seriously you take road safety.
If you don’t employ a fleet manager and are unsure of where to start with a risk assessment, you might be able to call upon the assistance of an insurer’s in-house team. Above all, you need to be able to demonstrate that you monitor your drivers’ and vehicles’ safety, and that you can take immediate action to nullify risks before they become dangerous.
The Health & Safety Executive has some pointers here.
2 Consider installing camera technology
It’s hard to believe that it wasn’t until the 1970s that vehicle reversing alarms began to be installed on large vehicles. Up until then drivers had to trust that pedestrians and other road users had their wits about them in order to avoid accidents.
Now the beeping of reversing vehicles is commonplace, and cameras are another step towards giving drivers all the information they need to avoid unpleasant accidents. Brigade Electronics is one of the most established suppliers of vehicle safety technology, and it and companies like it provide reversing cameras, anti-collision detectors, digital recorders and more to an increasing number of hauliers, transport and agricultural firms.
3 Use vehicle telematics
Location data from your vehicles can serve two aims: monitoring the way those cars and vans are driven on company time, and tracking where those vehicles have gone in the event of a theft. Information from the former can be fed back to your employees to improve driving styles and route planning.
Don’t know where to start? Check this RAC guide out.
4 Keep your fleet fresh
Newer vehicles are not only cheaper to run (because they’re more fuel-efficient), they’re less costly to insure (because they’re less likely to break down) than older vehicles. You may also find that your drivers respond better to the obvious signs of investment and will actively try to drive more responsibly.
5 Manage your drivers as well as your fleet
This task is made so much easier with a telematics package installed across your fleet.
You can identify error-prone drivers and provide them with extra, specialised training and even take out a separate insurance policy for them to maximise your company’s savings.
