Every day, you see the impact that safety has on your business – and your employees. And even if your fleet is small, your drivers face the same risks to their health and safety as those in large-fleet driven organizations.
You’ve likely already taken important strides toward putting an effective safety program in place. Even if you’ve got a formal safety program, there are additional steps every small and mid-size business should take to maximize fleet safety and ensure you hit the goals you’ve set for your safety metrics. By developing and implementing a driver coaching and training program, you can better protect your drivers, your business and your brand.
The Roadmap to an Effective Safety Program
First, it’s important to define what safety means for your company. By establishing clear goals and policies – and visibly demonstrating your commitment to building a company-wide safety culture – every member of your team will understand how they can contribute to safety and efficiency.
To turn your definition of safety into reality for your business, you’ve got identify and address any gaps that exist in your program and are holding you back from success. For example, do you have documented driver behavior policies that are monitored for compliance? What about a professional development program for your drivers? Are your drivers aware of the metrics they’re accountable for hitting? After identifying the gaps, adjust your policies and procedures to ensure alignment and full support of your goals.
Proactive Driver Training Reduces Costs and Improves Small and Mid-Size Fleet Safety
Risky driver behaviors threaten the health and safety of your employees and your fleet. In fact, the cost of a single collision can range anywhere from $14,000 to $225,000 depending on the circumstance and extent of damage and injury.
One of the most effective strategies to prevent on-the-road incidents is a proactive driver coaching and training program. Identifying and addressing risky driver behaviors sits at the heart of an effective fleet safety program.
Using the right combination of tools and training, you can reinforce safe driving practices and correct distracted driving in real-time. This includes risky behaviors like behind-the-wheel phone use and driving while fatigued, distractions that cause unsafe lane departure, and aggressive behaviors like following other vehicles too closely and driving above the posted limit.
Fleet Management Tools to Help You Build a Proactive Fleet Safety Program
How can you coach your drivers before, during and after they are at the wheel?
Safety scorecards are an effective way to get real-time visibility into each driver, as well as your driving culture as a whole. They are an integral part of how you can gain fleet-wide insights and benchmark individual driver safety.
New mainstream tools are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to increase safety. Studies show that an AI video dash cam solution with in-cab alerts can reduce accidents by 60% and reduce accident-related costs by 86%. Lower accident-related costs lead to reduced insurance claims, and decreased risks for your drivers and brand.
This solution allows for proactive safety by detecting distracted driving behaviors that typical dash cam solutions allow to go unchecked. It also should provide in-cab alerts that help drivers correct distracted behavior in real-time. When a distracted driving incident occurs, managers will also be alerted and the incidents can be factored into your driver scorecards – and your ongoing coaching and training initiatives.
The right driver training and coaching program makes your drivers more focused behind the wheel. And since even a brief lapse in attention can result in a devastating accident, reducing distractions is key to driver safety and achieving your overall safety and business goals.
Best Practices to Ensure Driver Engagement with Your Fleet Safety Program
A successful fleet safety program takes more than tools and training, it depends on driver engagement and buy-in. Our eBook will give you a set of tips and best practices to ensure your drivers are on board with new technologies – and your company-wide safety goals. You’ll learn:
- How to introduce new technology and tools to your driver team.
- What you need to do to build trust and align your drivers with your safety goals.
- What to consider when building your coaching and training program.
- How gamification can improve your fleet safety program results.
