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Read moreDid you know 1 in 3 road accidents involve a vehicle being driven for work? It’s an eye watering figure and one that many businesses probably aren’t aware of.
This statistic alone highlights how the cost of ignoring safety can be extremely high. Drivers may be injured, vehicles damaged, insurance premiums raised, and your brand and reputation tarnished. For fleet managers and business owners, safety is a complicated topic to tackle with drivers and once an accident happens, there can be long-term negative effects.
However, it’s something that simply can’t be ignored and should always be prioritised. Here’s why:
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- Whilst the vast majority of drivers set out with good intentions, bad habits can sometimes prevail. An annual report by the Department for Transport, in 2017, stated that aggressive, careless or uncertain driving behaviours contributed to 21% of road accidents. Do you have a way of tracking when a member of your fleet is not driving how they should be? With a fleet management solution, you can identify behaviours such as speeding and harsh braking. This data can then be used to gain a better level of control and more importantly, look for ways to improve safety standards and encourage your workforce to be more considerate when they’re out on the road
- According to the road safety charity, Brake, more than 2,000 accidents a year are caused by poor vehicle maintenance. However, it’s not always easy to keep your vehicles in tip-top condition or be aware of when they are due for routine servicing. The good news is, you can easily monitor this. A comprehensive GPS tracking solution should include scheduling alerts by date, time, engine use and mileage. Further to this, near real-time notifications on engine diagnostic trouble codes allow businesses to make faster, more informed maintenance decisions. All of this not only works to stay on top of preventative maintenance, it can also reduce the risk of vehicle faults and breakdowns.
- Distracted drivers are a hazard for your fleet and other road users. According to figures from the Department for Transport, driver distraction contributed to 4,573 accidents in 2017 alone. When there are deadlines to meet, stops to make and road conditions to contend with, it’s not always easy for your workforce to cut this out. With fleet tracking in place, you can work to make things easier for your drivers. Send route information directly to their sat-navs, removing the need for drivers to physically input routes. You can also collect data on start/finish times and arrival/departure for each job, which can help automate processes such as timesheets and billings as well as reducing paperwork. This in turn allows your drivers to focus on what they do best – driving.
It’s clear that a lack of focus on your fleet’s safety can result in a whole host of issues – accidents and unexpected costs to name a few. With the right tools, though, fleet managers and business owners can improve a number of processes that ultimately benefit everyone. Regardless of the size of your mobile workforce, safety and compliance should be paramount. If you struggle to make it so, it may be time to review your fleet management solution.
