Three tips for a safer fleet

A safe working environment is of huge importance to every business. For those that rely on fleets, with drivers on the roads among the general public on a daily basis, it takes on even greater significance.

Of course, no driver sets out to drive in an unsafe manner. However, with deadlines to meet and distractions from other road users, it’s easy to lose focus and slip into bad habits. These bad habits, such as speeding, aggressive acceleration and harsh braking, can have huge consequences. At worst, such behaviours can lead to accidents, not to mention traffic violations or damage to your company’s reputation.

Fortunately, there are several things business owners can do to ensure safety stays at the forefront of every driver’s mind, right through the working day.

1. Make safety a focus – from clocking in to clocking out

The easiest way to ensure safety is always on the mind of your drivers is to regularly remind them of its importance. There are several ways to do this. Start by ensuring your driving policy is easily visible in all depots, break areas and anywhere else your drivers are likely to spend time before during or after a shift. You can also implement safety reminders inside vehicles, either in the form of warning stickers, or audible alerts whenever an unsafe driving behaviour occurs.

2. Promote friendly competition among drivers

Collecting information on individual driving styles and making it available for all to see can be a great way to keep your drivers focused on safety. By harnessing data on instances of speeding, harsh cornering, seat belt use and braking style, you can create a driver scorecard which can be used to rank drivers based on their level of safety. By sending these rankings out to all on a daily or weekly basis, you can keep each driver’s score fresh in their mind, to help them stay focused on improving their rank and, in turn, driving in a safer manner.

3. Remove distractions

Another simple way to help your drivers stay safe on the road is to remove any unnecessary distractions. Start by ensuring every driver is equipped with a commercial-grade sat-nav that offers clear and concise instructions to avoid confusion. Next, implement a solution to send route information directly to your drivers’ sat-nav. Not only does this eliminate the need for drivers to physically input routes, it also removes a protracted back and forth with head office should routes change throughout the working day.

A comprehensive GPS tracking solution can help you implement all the changes listed above, to ensure safety is always on the mind of your drivers.

For a better understanding of how GPS tracking can help you build a safer fleet, why not book a demo with us?