According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration, more than 90% of vehicle accidents are the result of operator error and 50% of all accidents and fatalities occur at or near intersections. With these facts in mind, it’s important to have constant vigilance behind the wheel, and implement safe-driving practices, including:
- Maintain safe speeds
- Keep a safe following distance using the 3-second-plus rule
- Avoid distractions both inside and outside the vehicle
- Make proper turns using turning indicators
- Avoid driving left of center
- Yield right of way
- Wear seat belts
- Adapt to driving conditions such as rain or snow
- Keep vehicles in good driving condition through regular maintenance
- Become familiar with and adjust the vehicle's controls before starting any trip
- Watch out for other drivers and roadside dangers
One of the key factors in maintaining fleet safety is the recruiting process of new drivers. Make sure you review the driving history of your prospective employee and how their record matches up with your company’s minimum standards for vehicle operators. While hiring managers may feel pressured to quickly put someone behind the wheel, they do their company no favor by lowering the standards concerning eligible drivers. SuperVision’s white paper on Negligent Entrustment: The Risk of Overlooking Driver Safety, describes the liability that company’s incur when they do not perform their due diligence in vetting new drivers.
How to Change Driving Behavior
Another key factor in maintaining fleet safety is changing or improving driving behavior. While late-model vehicles now have many features such as lane departure and following-distance warnings, to coach drivers—aftermarket telematics also offer information about a driver’s behavior such as hard braking and fast accelerations. As a low-tech coaching method, EMC recommends having experienced mentors or trainers give road tests to new and existing drivers.
We offer the following resources for developing, strengthening and maintaining your driver safety program:
- EMC's Loss Control Website
The website has an entire section on driver safety, including templates, online training modules, safety briefs, forms, tech sheets, posters and more.
- EMC Insurance Loss Control Consultant
Contact your local EMC Insurance Loss Control Consultant to have them review your fleet safety program and help you with safety training for your drivers.
- National Safety Council Driving Course
National Safety Council offers the Defensive Driving Course along with other online training resources. The Council offers access to these resources under the Safety Training tab. Included is a free-of-charge, downloadable safe driving kit.
- Fleet Regulatory Agencies
Refer to, and keep up with changes in, DOT and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and incorporate those details into your program. The FMCSA website has a variety of safety resources under the "Safety" dropdown.
- SuperVision
EMC maintains a relationship with SuperVision, a real-time driver monitoring service with access to changes in state motor vehicle records. With these records, SuperVision helps companies stay on top of employee violations and license status changes. The alerts provided by SuperVision can be used to require refresher driver training or to exclude a driver from your authorized driver list.