Whether you use it for deliveries, transport, or in the process of carrying out your services across different locations, maintaining a business fleet is a lot of work. Aside from being a highly valuable asset, your fleet is also a potential safety risk to your team.
Any extended period of time working on the road naturally comes with the threat of collisions and accidents, so it’s important to consider what you’re doing to ensure that your fleet drivers are safe.
Ensure Routine Training For Fleet Drivers
Safety training is a vital part of workplace training for any employee, and should be considered an even higher priority for your fleet drivers, even those with the most experience.
Not only do road conditions, regulations, and best practices evolve over time, but everyone can benefit from a refresher course on company policies regarding driving habits on the road. Consistent training also reinforces safety culture, reminding drivers that their actions directly impact both their well-being and company reputation.
Keep Your Vehicles Well-Maintained
A fleet that is well taken care of is also a lot safer. With routine inspections and servicing, you can reduce the risk of breakdowns and accidents on the road that can be attributed to mechanical failures.
Tires, brakes, lights, and fluid levels should be checked frequently, with detailed maintenance logs kept for each vehicle. Preventive maintenance not only extends the lifespan of vehicles but also ensures they perform reliably under all driving conditions.
Whether you make your team responsible for their vehicle maintenance or partner with a local garage, systematizing your efforts to maintain your fleet is vital.
Choose The Safest Routes
There are other potential causes of accidents beyond mechanical failure, of course.
Road conditions and traffic status can increase the risk significantly. As such, using a route planner app with accident data not only helps your drivers find the most efficient way from A to B, but also helps you take into account any heightened risks on the road that you can help them avoid.
Prevention is always better than the cure, and safe route planning means you don’t offload the burden of navigating potential threats to your drivers.
Monitor And Address Driver Habits
With the help of vehicle telematics, you’re able to track your fleet on the road in real time, as well as to review the data after the fact. As such, you might be able to identify aspects of driver behavior, such as speeding, hard braking, or sharp turns that can potentially be safety issues or increase wear and tear on the vehicle, leading to a higher risk of mechanical faults.
This information can then be used for coaching sessions to correct risky behavior and improve overall safety and performance on the road.
If you take workplace safety seriously, as you should, then that should extend to those who aren’t on the business property, especially if they’re on the road. The steps above aren’t the only ones you can take, but they can go a long way in ensuring that you’re mindful of the risks and doing what you can to mitigate them.
