Commercial drivers are responsible for the safety of others on the road. Each year, countless preventable accidents happen on the roads. Many of these accidents involve commercial vehicles, which are often caused by employees who aren’t following safety protocol. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your employees are driving safely- both for their sake and for the sake of others on the road.
This blog post will give you some tips on how to ensure your employees are driving safely. So let’s get started!
Make Sure Your Employees Are Properly Trained
The first step to ensuring that your employees are driving safely is to make sure they’re properly trained. This means providing them with the necessary education and training on defensive driving, safety protocols, and company policies.
Make sure you have a training program that covers all the above topics. You can also encourage your employees to take DMV-approved defensive driving courses online. These courses can help them brush up on their skills and knowledge, and they’ll also be able to get a discount on their insurance rates.
Enforce a Safe Driving Policy
A safe driving policy is one of the most important ways to ensure that your employees are driving safely. This policy should outline what is expected of employees while they’re behind the wheel, and it should be communicated to all employees before they begin driving for work.
The policy should cover topics like:
- Cell phone use while driving
- Speeding
- Driving under the influence
- Aggressive driving
Make sure that your policy is clear and concise and that all employees understand it. You may even require employees to sign the policy to show that they’ve read and understood it.
Monitor Your Employees’ Driving Habits
You can’t always be with your employees when they’re behind the wheel, but there are ways to monitor their driving habits. GPS tracking devices can be installed on company vehicles to track their location and speed. This information can identify problem areas and help you make changes to improve safety.
You can also consider using a driver scoring system. This system uses data from GPS tracking devices to score drivers on their safety habits. Drivers with a high score are less likely to be involved in an accident, and those with a low score may need additional training.
Provide Incentives for Safe Driving
One way to encourage safe driving habits is to incentivize employees who practice them. This could be in the form of a bonus, paid time off, or even just a verbal recognition of their good work.
Withholding benefits can also be an effective motivator. For example, you could require employees to complete a defensive driving course before they’re eligible for a raise or promotion.
Make sure that your incentives are fair and attainable and that they’re based on specific, measurable goals.
Conduct Regular Vehicle Maintenance Checks
It’s important to make sure that your company vehicles are in good condition and that all safety equipment is up-to-date. This includes things like brakes, tires, lights, and mirrors. Not only is this important for safety, but it’s also required by law in most states.
You should also have a system for conducting regular maintenance checks on vehicles. This could be done by an outside company, or you could have someone on your team responsible for conducting the checks. Either way, ensure these checks are done regularly, and any issues are addressed immediately.
Provide Driver Safety Resources
Your employees should have access to resources that can help them improve their driving skills and habits. This could include things like defensive driving books, online resources, or even just a list of safe driving tips.
You can also provide employees with access to a driver safety hotline. This hotline can be used to report unsafe driving habits or get advice on how to handle difficult driving situations.
Stay Up-to-Date on Safety Regulations
It’s important to stay up-to-date on all state and federal safety regulations, as well as any changes that may occur. This way, you can ensure that your employees are following the law and that your company is in compliance.
You can stay up-to-date on safety regulations by subscribing to industry news sources, attending conferences, and taking advantage of online resources. This will help you identify any changes that need to be made to your safety policy.
Following these tips can help ensure that your employees are driving safely. This, in turn, will help reduce the number of accidents and improve your company’s overall safety. So, what are you waiting for? Put these tips into action today!
