Because drivers play an integral role in work truck safety, on-going training and safety programs are important to keep drivers’ skills sharp. Good programs will pay dividends in terms of preventing injuries and saving lives, avoiding property damage, helping to keep insurance costs low, staying clear of negative publicity and avoiding lawsuits.
While fleet telematics has been focused on increasing operational efficiencies, this technology can also be employed to improve fleet safety. By remotely tracking, in real time, at-risk behaviors – such as hard braking, tailgating, harsh cornering and rapid acceleration, fleets can gather data that can be used to review these unsafe acts with their drivers and implement measures to help prevent the occurrence of collisions.
Moreover, a safe driver is a more efficient driver. That results in increased operational savings and reduced maintenance costs from improvements in vehicle performance.
CALL-IN PROGRAMS
While they may not be as high-tech as in-vehicle technology, behavior-based safety “how’s my driving?” driver monitoring programs serve an indicator of driver risk. With such programs, people call the 800 safety hotline number on the vehicle sign/sticker to report erratic driving.
Based on the phone calls, fleet knows who the problem drivers are and, equally important, what the at-risk behaviors are and can implement corrective measures.
