Every year in June, businesses around the world observe National Safety Month. The goal is to reduce accidents and deaths in the workplace, on the road, and in the home. For commercial truck drivers, their work and their vehicle are often one in the same. However, fleets often have a hard time investing in safety measures because the benefit is that nothing transpires\u2014no accidents, no safety violations, no deaths, etc. There is no tangible reward such as a bonus. However, the cost of pushing safety down the priority list can be catastrophic, which is something all fleets want to avoid. That is why fleet safety shouldn\u2019t be reactionary. By putting safety procedures and policies into place, fleets can avoid expensive and potentially lethal safety incidents. The following approaches are surefire ways to improve fleet safety and reduce accidents.<\/p>\n

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1. Make safety a priority<\/strong>. When safety is an afterthought, accidents are bound to happen. That is why fostering a culture of safety is vital for keeping fleets operational. When fleets put safety front and center, they send a message to their drivers and potential future employees that they don\u2019t tolerate dangerous driving behaviors.<\/li>\n
2. Build strong connections with drivers<\/strong>. Every driver has his or her areas of strength and weakness. When drivers have areas that need improvement that affect safety, fleet managers understandably want to address it as soon as possible. However, no one likes when their boss points out their shortcomings. To reduce a driver\u2019s embarrassment and possible unwillingness to work on the issue, fleet managers should get to know their drivers beyond the surface. This way, fleet managers can approach safety issues from the stance of a concerned friend rather than a micromanaging supervisor.<\/li>\n
3. Implement video to safeguard your fleet<\/strong>. Accidents happen despite best efforts. Unfortunately for fleets, this often means litigation, and that doesn\u2019t often go in favor of commercial drivers. However, if the fleet can produce video footage to show courts what actually led up to and caused the incident, they can prove their innocence. Even if the commercial driver is at fault, the footage is a valuable learning tool to help train drivers on how to correct their behavior behind the wheel.<\/li>\n
4. Get drivers\u2019 families involved<\/strong>. Safety is a group effort in the transportation industry, and this is true on the home front as well. By incorporating families into the safety culture, fleets can improve driver safety. For example, drivers\u2019 family members likely want to talk to them on the phone during the day to stay connected. However, talking on the phone contributes to distracted driving, which can lead to accidents. Fleets should consider sending fliers or newsletters to drivers\u2019 families to help them understand and actively contribute to safety measures.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   If your fleet is struggling with driver safety, DriverCheck can help. Our How\u2019s My Driving? Program delivers guaranteed results, reducing accidents by at least 10%. To learn how we can help your trucking business improve safety, contact us today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

   Every year in June, businesses around the world observe National Safety Month. The goal is to reduce accidents and deaths in the workplace, on the road, and in the home. For commercial truck drivers, their work and their vehicle are often one in the same. However, fleets often have a hard time investing in safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[85,35],"tags":[31,199,198,196,197,47],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7460"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8052,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7460\/revisions\/8052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/10.10.0.150\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}