Looking for a way to protect your business from the high cost of dealing with on-the-job road accidents? Implement a fleet safety program.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best policies to include in your fleet safety program and how you can enhance those policies by getting certified in fleet safety procedures.
Why A Fleet Safety Program Is Important
The cost of a work-related vehicle accident can be almost twice other workplace injuries and, in some cases, can approach five, or even six, figures.
Thankfully, these costs — and the effects an accident has on human life — can be minimized by implementing a fleet safety program and training your drivers to pilot their vehicles to prevent accidents whenever possible.
At its core, a fleet safety program is a set of policies and procedures that help protect your business against liability from vehicle accidents and ensure a safe work environment for drivers and support staff.
Of course, there is no guarantee that an accident won’t occur. As workplaces go, the nation’s roads are one of the most dangerous. But establishing and maintaining a fleet safety program can help mitigate this danger while improving employee satisfaction and fleet efficiency.
Policies For An Effective Fleet Safety Program
1) Standard Operating Procedures
To create an effective fleet safety program, your business needs more than just a few unwritten rules that your team transmits by word-of-mouth.
Instead, your business needs full commitment from management and for them to compose a set of formal standard operating procedures that all team members must abide by.
These standard operating procedures must be made available to all employees — drivers and support staff alike — so that everyone is aware of what you expect them to do and how you expect them to behave while on the job.
Making your fleet safety program a part of your standard operating procedures — and not something that’s just an afterthought — goes a long way toward preventing accidents and keeping your drivers safe on the road.
2) Driver Management
A big part of any fleet safety program is driver management. This is embodied in how you select, train, and evaluate the employees you allow to pilot your fleet vehicles.
Driver selection is the foundation of any safety standards and practices your business chooses to adopt. All the training in the world won’t improve the way an employee drives if they’re not willing to respect and abide by your standard operating procedures.
When deciding whom to select as a driver, start with these basics:
- Verify they have a valid state driver’s license
- Review motor vehicle records and screen out those with multiple violations
- Be aware of federal and state limitations for drivers under 18
Once you’ve selected the drivers who are right for the job, provide training that outlines the policies and procedures of your fleet safety program.
Keep in mind that training isn’t a one-and-done thing. Periodic instruction, updates, and reviews go a long way toward making your safety standards a real part of driver behavior.
Finally, evaluate your drivers on a regular basis to see how well they’re abiding by your fleet safety program.
3) Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is a major concern for most fleet safety programs in the United States.
Distractions that can lead to accidents include:
- Texting while driving
- Talking on the phone while driving
- Programming GPS while driving
- Eating or drinking while driving
Even talking with other passengers can be a distraction. To cover these issues, create a distracted driving policy that prohibits these activities while the vehicle is in motion.
4) Seat Belts
No fleet safety program would be complete without a seat belt policy of some sort.
The risk of death and serious injury increases dramatically when drivers don’t wear a seat belt while operating a vehicle — even at slow speeds.
You can choose how to word this portion of your fleet safety program, but a straightforward statement making the use of seatbelts mandatory is usually best.
Here’s an example of an effective seat belt policy:
All employees must wear a seat belt when operating:
- A company-owned vehicle
- Any vehicle on company property
- Any vehicle on company business
Failure to comply with any part of this policy may result in immediate termination.
5) Impaired Driving
Impaired driving — like distracted driving — greatly increases the risk that a driver will be involved in a collision and includes the use of substances that affect perception, such as alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, and depressants.
Be sure to include language in your fleet safety program that distinguishes between consuming these substances on the job and showing up for work while under the influence — both of which are prohibited.
As you did in your seat belt policy, be sure to indicate the consequences for failure to abide by the impaired driving policy.
6) Pre-Trip Inspection
Set up a pre-trip inspection policy with the goal of minimizing the risk of equipment failure, breakdowns, and other emergencies while on the road.
Make it mandatory that all drivers complete a pre-trip inspection before operating — or before resuming the operation of — any company vehicle.
If the pre-trip inspection is conducted on company property, it’s a good idea to require a supervisor’s signature on the inspection form before the driver can leave.
7) Post-Trip Inspection
A post-trip inspection is also a fundamental part of any good fleet safety program.
While the post-trip inspection doesn’t have to be as involved as the pre-trip inspection, it can be a useful way to identify potential issues that could render the vehicle unsafe for the next driver or the next trip.
Create a checklist to review the major systems of the vehicle and make it mandatory that drivers report any problems to their supervisor immediately upon discovery.
Combine post-trip and pre-trip inspections — along with intra-trip inspections if the journey is long enough — for even more diligence and safety on the road.
8) Route Management
With the help of GPS, driver tracking, and telematics, you can incorporate route management into your fleet safety program.
Analyzing the directions you give to your drivers — or the directions they choose while behind the wheel — can help them avoid heavily-trafficked roads and the higher risk of accidents that come with them.
Some fleet management programs even allow you to analyze traffic in real time so that you can re-route your drivers around the safety hazards.
9) Accident Response Plan
Regardless of the other policies you create for your fleet safety program, it’s always important to have an accident response plan in place just in case a mishap does occur.
Such response plans help your drivers know what to do if they’re involved in an accident and allow your business to move quickly to take care of the issue.
Without an accident response plan in place, you may be left scrambling and wondering what to do and whom to contact when a collision or a breakdown does occur.
10) Vehicle Maintenance
Other than driver behavior while on the road, vehicle maintenance is one of the key components of an effective fleet safety program.
Equipment failure is one of the most common reasons that accidents occur.
It doesn’t matter if the vehicle is used for short trips around town or long trips across the country — mechanical breakdowns can cause real problems for your fleet and the safety of your drivers.
Along with your pre- and post-trip inspections, establish policies and procedures for regular vehicle maintenance to help prevent accidents caused by faulty equipment and to help reduce the costs associated with unexpected breakdowns.
It can also be good for your business to include policies that deal with how to handle obsolete vehicles and those on which maintenance is no longer a cost-effective solution.
11) Tire Inflation
In the previous section, we talked about how equipment failure is one of the most common reasons that accidents occur. In few places on the vehicle is this more true than on the tires.
Proper tire inflation contributes to a wide variety of variables both safety and monetary, including the life of the tire itself (which, depending on size, can be extremely expensive), as well as:
The Safety Of The Vehicle
When tires are underinflated, the sidewalls flex more than they should (making it harder to steer and corner), are softer and more easily punctured, and don’t channel water correctly (making them less safe in wet conditions).
Miles Per Gallon And Fuel Spending
When it comes to miles per gallon and fuel spending, it’s estimated that a 10% reduction in tire rolling resistance will result in a 1-2% improvement in vehicle fuel economy.
Here’s how that impacts your bottom line.
If the price of gasoline is $3.00 per gallon and your work truck tires are 10% underinflated (e.g., 54 PSI rather than 60 PSI), you’re losing 2% (or $0.06) for every gallon you put in the tank.
For a 30-gallon tank, that means you’re paying $1.80 extra at every fill-up.
That may not sound like much, but if your vehicle goes through a tank of fuel every day, five days a week, for 42 weeks out of the year, you’ll pay $378 more per year than you would if you had maintained the recommended tire pressure.
And that’s just one vehicle. Multiply that $378 by the number of vehicles in your fleet, and you can see how big of an impact tire inflation can have on your spending.
A simple solution to these safety and spending issues is to equip every vehicle with an air pressure gauge and make it mandatory that drivers check tire inflation before starting out on a trip and every time they stop.
12) Screening And Hiring
Screening and hiring safe drivers is the cornerstone of any good fleet safety program. They’re the ones who will be operating the vehicles and, hopefully, abiding by all safety standards you set for your business.
It all starts with the screening process for new hires. As part of that process, set qualification standards and then do your best to stick to them regardless of how short of help you are.
When interviewing, identify risky behaviors and habits and talk to the candidate directly about their willingness to change to your business’s standards. If they push back — even just a little bit — they might not be right for your fleet.
It’s also beneficial to include a background check, driving record check, and drug screening in your hiring process in order to address all potential safety issues.
13) Fuel-Efficient Driving Techniques
Another important policy to include in your fleet safety program is the implementation and execution of regular training and retraining in fuel-efficient driving techniques, including:
- Smooth acceleration and braking
- Setting the cruise control whenever possible and maintaining the posted speed limit
- Reducing weight carried in the vehicle
- Avoiding unnecessary idling
That last point may strike you as odd, but consider this: Accounting for all road vehicles — from passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks — one report estimates that more than 6 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel combined are lost to idling every year.
If fuel prices stayed steady at $3.00 per gallon (which they seldom do), that would be $18 billion lost just from leaving a vehicle engine running when it could be turned off.
In addition to saving fuel, many of those same driving techniques also contribute to the safety of your drivers, your vehicles, and the other drivers and vehicles around them.
Train drivers in fuel-efficient driving techniques as part of your new-hire onboarding process, monitor them on the road, and then retrain all drivers at least once a year to keep the information at the top of their mind.
14) Performance Evaluation
As we mentioned, monitoring driver behavior on the road is a major contributor to your fleet safety program and an important policy for a safe work environment.
Establish a system for reviewing and evaluating driver behavior throughout the year and then conduct performance evaluations at least once a year to correct any issues that may pop up and to reinforce any good habits that you may find.
When it comes to this last point, keep in mind that safe, high-performing drivers have a tangible positive impact on your business (in a variety of ways both public and private).
Make sure your drivers know that you see and appreciate their good driving record. Verbal praise goes a long way, but so does team-wide or company-wide recognition.
Consider implementing quarterly prizes, annual bonuses, or extra time off for maintaining a safe driving record and fuel-efficient driving techniques all year long.
15) Vehicle Replacement
Over time, vehicles will wear out no matter how well-maintained you’ve kept them. At the end of their useful life, it’s important to have policies and procedures in place for replacing an aging vehicle.
Within the policy itself, consider factors such as total mileage, age of vehicle, condition of body, condition of systems, and potential for future breakdown.
Then build procedures that tell you straightforward how you’re going to dispose of the old vehicle and which new vehicle you’re going to purchase.
Creating policies and procedures like these takes the emotion and personal preferences out of the choice so you can make the right decision for your fleet.
16) Proper ELD Use
An electronic logging device (ELD) policy is essential for the safety of your drivers and the success of your business.
In your policy, define proper ELD use and stress the importance of abiding by all rules and regulations at all times. But don’t just leave it at that.
As part of your training (and retraining) program, provide instruction on how to:
- Use the equipment and navigate to the features they need
- Identify and correct errors
- Deal with malfunctions
- Make data available upon request
You should also emphasize to all drivers the importance of proper ELD use and how an inaccurate hours-of-service report can have significant monetary and legal consequences for both them and the business as a whole.
After you’ve instructed your drivers in proper ELD use, continue to monitor their numbers regularly in order to catch any issues before they become major problems.
If you do find that a driver isn’t operating within ELD compliance (either accidentally or intentionally), address the issue as soon as possible so that your business isn’t hit with a fine (which can range into the thousands of dollars) or an out-of-service penalty.
17) Cargo Loading And Securement
The cargo your fleet vehicles carry should always be loaded and secured correctly to avoid potential safety issues (e.g., shifting or breaking loose) while on the road. Create policies and procedures for everything from small items in the cab to large items in the bed or trailer.
For example, instead of stacking all the tools and equipment on one side of a work van, drivers should make it a point to spread the tools along both sides of the vehicle.
Similarly, tools, equipment, and supplies should be centered between the axles (from front to back) whenever possible.
Once cargo is distributed correctly, drivers should then take steps to secure the items properly either by stowing it in appropriate consoles or strapping it down with straps or chains.
This will prevent the cargo from moving and overweighting one side of the vehicle (which can lead to the vehicle tipping over) or becoming a dangerous projectile should the vehicle break or accelerate hard.
18) Data Privacy
Maintaining fleet safety and fuel efficiency requires that you monitor a large portion of your driver’s daily activity with telematics, GPS, smart fuel card software, and fleet management technology.
This generates a lot of data that could lead to privacy issues within your business.
Create a policy that establishes data privacy rules for a safe work environment and abides by all local, state, and federal privacy laws.
Fleet Safety Certification
As we’ve discussed in this article, a good fleet safety program can help mitigate the dangers of operating a vehicle while at work and improve both efficiency and driver satisfaction in one fell swoop.
But this doesn’t happen naturally — it requires advanced knowledge, training, and practice. One of the best ways to gain these things is by becoming fleet safety certified.
The various programs teach participants a variety of skills — including defensive driving and safety best practices — that will help them supervise drivers and vehicles in the best way possible.
Managers also learn about topics such as:
- Fleet liability
- Insurance
- Compliance
- New technology
- How to establish a driver training program
- Implementing an accident response plan
- Preventative measures that mitigate accidents
Fleet safety certification programs even teach managers how to make use of driver and vehicle tracking data to boost fleet efficiency and improve the business’s bottom line.
All of that can improve your fleet safety program and have a profound effect on driver behavior and the overall success of your company.
Fleet Safety And Fuel Management For Success
One of the best ways to improve driver safety — and reduce expenses in the process — is to include fuel management training as part of your fleet safety program.
Provide your drivers with a universally accepted Coast fleet card and reduce the choices they have to make on the road for a much safer trip.
In addition, Coast provides real-time expense tracking and a powerful online management platform that puts your entire fleet in the palm of your hand and provides full visibility of every dollar spent.
Ready to give Coast a try? Get started here. And for more help with all aspects of running your fleet-based business, visit our resource center on CoastPay.com.
