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Fleet vehicle accidents can be one of the most expensive injury claims for your field service business. The average business loss of a fleet vehicle accident amounts to about $70,000. Additional potential losses include lost productivity, missed sales calls, and third-party liability claims. The total of these losses to employers adds up to a staggering $60 billion annually. If you think it won't happen to your drivers, think again. By far, the single biggest category of fatally injured workers is transportation incidents for driver/sales workers and truck drivers. On average, about three occupational drivers die from crashes every day in the U.S. Driver safety should be of the utmost concern for any fleet-centric service business. Remember:
Route driver crashes are almost always preventable.
Every field service business owner needs to understand the fact that with a good driver safety program, fleet vehicle accidents are mostly preventable. If your drivers are well-trained, drive defensively, and remain conscious of their driving behavior, they can prevent almost any accident from occurring. The costs of a good safety program are small compared to the cost of crashes. One survey reported an expected $3 return-on-investment for every $1 spent on improving safety, not to mention the many other benefits of fewer driver crashes.
At-Fault vs. Preventable Accidents
When two or more vehicles are involved in a collision, the authorities and insurance companies will determine who was at fault. For example, if your driver was lawfully proceeding through an intersection with a green light, and is struck by another vehicle speeding through on a red light, the other driver is clearly at fault. The real question for field service businesses is; was the accident preventable?
The definition of preventability is much different than at-fault. If your driver could have reasonably done anything to avoid the collision, it is considered a preventable accident and your driver was responsible for preventing it. We've all seen people speed through an intersection a second or two after it turns red, probably on a daily basis. Timing the light and jumping into the intersection the moment it turns green puts a driver and their vehicle in danger. Instead, look for red light runners before proceeding. This takes less than a second, and represents the kind of extra precaution great defensive drivers practice every day. Having great defensive route drivers should be a fundamental goal of every field service business. A great driver safety program can help you get there.
A Great Driver Safety Program
A ten-step guide for implementing a great driver safety program was developed by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has gone further and consolidated the ten steps into four basic components within a complete toolkit. The toolkit is easy to read and explains how to implement a driver safety program along with sample policies and other sample documents. This toolkit provides an excellent guide for your field service business to get started with a great driver safety program.
The Ohio toolkit's four components are:
- Company leaders commit to safety.
- Written policies and procedures guide employees’ actions.
- Driver selection, training and evaluation is a top priority.
- Vehicles are safe and well-maintained (p. 1).
We will examine each of these components.
Commit to Safety
As a field service business owner/manager, you already know that good company policies and procedures don't happen by accident. They require a proactive commitment by senior management and continuous reinforcement. A good driver safety program is no exception. Commit to establishing and maintaining a driver safety program as one of your company's top priorities. Practice your commitment by becoming a safer, more defensive driver yourself, and your field service technicians will follow your example.
Formal Policies and Procedures
The Ohio toolkit has several good sample policies. They cover journal management, seat belt use, cell phone texting, and alcohol and drug use policies. Use those as a starting point for creating your own written policies.
Create a policy that driving at safe speeds and in a cautious manner is always more important than taking unnecessary risks to complete the route faster. In other words, foster a healthy balance between motivation for productivity and the fundamental requirement to stay safe.
Establish reward programs (like a one-year, accident-free dinner) for accident-free driving and disciplinary actions for violations of the policies.
Create a driver contract each employee must sign agreeing to your policies.
Driver Qualification, Training, and Regular Evaluation
Hire only qualified drivers and review their records before hire, then once per year thereafter.
Provide new hire safety education and set aside regular training time for reinforcement. This is a key feature of a great driver safety program; it renews the importance of defensive driving with your drivers and highlights safety practices they may have forgotten or let lapse. In-person classes are the most effective, but online classes provide significant benefits as well.
A great place to find defensive driver course resources for your field service business and your route drivers is the National Safety Council. They offer options for enrolling in online courses, scheduling onsite training at your facility, registering for courses at a local NSC driver training center, and even courses for becoming a certified defensive driving instructor. You can download a free NSC Safe Driving Toolkit here. Related defensive driving courses, driving records, and other driver safety resources are also available at the American Safety Council Course Catalog.
A classic example of effective training materials is the video Signal 30, circa 1959. WARNING: This video is quite gruesome because it is brutally realistic and reinforces the seriousness of what is at stake when drivers crash.
Safe, Well-Maintained Vehicles
If your field service business provides company vehicles for your field service technicians, you are responsible for providing safe, well-maintained vehicles. When buying or leasing vehicles, pick recent models with the best safety ratings and advanced driver warning systems. Have the vehicles inspected and maintained by qualified mechanics on a regular basis—annually at a minimum. Require that drivers perform a daily inspection of the tires, headlights, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals before leaving for the day. Implement a policy requiring drivers to report any maintenance issues that might affect safety immediately.
Summing It All Up
Every field service business should be fully aware of the costs and risks of route driver crashes. More importantly, they should remain keenly aware that almost all route driver crashes are preventable and that prevention is attainable with a good driver safety program. Good driver safety programs have certain components in common: company leaders committed to safety, formal policies and procedures, safe driver selection, continuous driver education and review, and safe, well-maintained vehicles. Commit your field service business to having a great route driver safety program. Your bottom line will benefit and so will your field service technicians.
