By Heather Chambers, technical sales specialist at Mike Albert

Heather Chambers, technical sales specialist at Mike Albert

In the fleet management world, there’s a lot of talk about maintaining vehicles and keeping them safe and road-worthy – but are you giving equal attention to how safely your drivers operate your vehicles?

April officially marked Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which aimed  to increase awareness of the dangers and consequences of distracted driving. Distracted driving (which can include anything from using a cellphone or navigation system to eating while operating a vehicle) has become somewhat of an epidemic on the road, with thousands of people injured or killed each year as a result.

With the prevention of distracted driving top of mind, this is also an ideal time for fleet owners to take stock of driver behaviors, training programs, and fleet safety policies to identify opportunities for improvement. Research suggests that the implementation of fleet safety management practices can significantly lower rates of work-related crashes and injuries—so here are some tangible ways for you to prioritise and improve the safety of your fleet.

Review (or create) your fleet safety policy

If you don’t have a comprehensive fleet safety policy already, the time to get started is now. Setting clear, consistent expectations of your drivers is the foundation of a successful fleet safety program; a thorough fleet safety policy can also protect you from litigation if one of your drivers is involved in an accident or collision.

At the very minimum, your fleet safety policies should explicitly detail what your drivers can and cannot do behind the wheel on company time, as well as the consequences of breaking those policies. While each fleet is different, managers should address factors like:

• Daily vehicle inspections
• Respecting speed limits and traffic signals
• Seat belt usage
• Distracted driving and mobile phone usage
• Drug and alcohol usage
• Use of vehicles for personal stops

Prioritise training & ongoing coaching

Hiring qualified drivers is only half the battle. Once they join your company, ensure your drivers are empowered to operate your fleet vehicles safely with ongoing training. Keeping your drivers’ skills up to snuff can reduce the frequency and severity of road accidents, as well as emphasise the procedures and communication you expect from your team.

To that end, we always recommend that fleet managers train new hires on:

• Proper vehicle handling
• Defensive driving
• Any software or safety technology they’ll need to use on a regular basis. (For example, at Mike Albert, we provide initial training for the drivers and fleet administrators of companies that implement our vehicle and driver monitoring platform.)

Ongoing refresher courses for more seasoned drivers should also be incorporated into fleet training policies to ensure that safety is always top of mind. In addition, conducting motor vehicle record checks can provide a more detailed picture of driver behavior and flag issues like DUIs, tickets, or moving violations that need to be addressed.

Encourage & reward safe driving behaviour

Monitoring driver performance helps flag risky behaviors and identifies drivers who need ongoing coaching or remedial training. That’s why an increasing number of fleet managers are using telematics to collect important data about driving habits and productivity to develop driver scorecards, which can be used to evaluate and address driver performance on an ongoing basis.

This data can be extremely helpful in coaching your underperformers, as well as celebrating and rewarding your safest drivers.

A little recognition for model employees can go a long way in encouraging safer driving habits—and keeping your best drivers happy. Implementing a rewards system or bonus plan for safe driving is a great way to attract and retain reliable, high-performing employees, which has been a struggle for many companies in recent years due to talent shortages.

The simple truth is that a safer fleet benefits everyone – your drivers, your customers, and your bottom line. Prioritising a robust safety programme is well worth the time spent, especially when you start seeing results in the way of reduced accidents, safer drivers, and improved employee retention.

Heather Chambers is a technical sales specialist at Mike Albert Fleet Solutions and has six years of experience in the fleet management world. In her role, she leverages her deep expertise in fuel management, maintenance management, telematics, safety programmes, and compliance services to optimise clients’ fleets with innovative technology solutions.