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Effective fleet risk management requires formal communication and continual reinforcement of expected driving behaviors and policies. This can’t just be policies on paper—the principles must be embraced and reinforced by management. All employees should be provided with a written statement that emphasizes your organization’s commitment to road safety. Policies and procedures should be written in a clear, easy-to-understand way and communicated to all employees. A Driver Handbook can be a helpful way of communicating what is expected of drivers. All relevant safety documents can be included within a Driver Handbook that drivers are required to keep in their vehicles.
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A Driver Agreement/Pledge/Contract is a formal agreement between an employer and employee. It states that the driver agrees to drive safely and abide by the company’s policies – in addition to all other legal and moral obligations – when driving on company business.
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It is important to have guidance and policies in place for key risk factors such as driver impairment, cellphone use, seat-belt use and fatigue. These help to increase drivers’ awareness of specific driving risks and make it clear what is expected, permitted and prohibited behind the wheel when driving for company business. Written policies should clearly communicate the ramifications/penalties if the driver fails to comply.
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Effective fleet risk management requires an ongoing commitment and review by management. Policies and procedures should be reviewed annually and results monitored continually. Technology can be a helpful tool; it can send reminders, track data and immediately identify issues that need to be addressed.
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Driver risk management should form part of an overall safe driving culture that includes everyone from executive level to hourly employees. Unwavering leadership commitment and support is crucial to the success of an organization’s safety culture. Designating an executive as project “Champion” can help to demonstrate commitment. It is important that all levels, including senior management, country leaders, team leaders, etc., “buy-in” to fleet safety.
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Fleet operators regularly share ideas and best practices with other organizations to help improve road safety for all road users. The experiences of organizations around the world can help you to make informed decisions and introduce initiatives that have already been proven successful at reducing collision rates and costs across large populations of drivers and sustaining such reductions over time. Safety advice, tips and road safety news should be communicated to employees regularly; this might be in the form of a company newsletter, emails, posters in communal areas, etc.
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Many organizations have lots of useful data, but it is often fragmented, stored in data “silos”, and analyzed in isolation. Integrating ALL of your drivers’ on-road performance data into a consolidated system provides a comprehensive understanding of the total risk picture across the organization. Timely and relevant analytics support internal and external benchmarking, more informed decision-making, and quantifiable performance improvement.
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A robust procedure for conducting driving license checks annually forms an integral part of any fleet risk management strategy. Driver license checks help to reduce risk exposure by ensuring employees are driving legally and within their capabilities, and are adequately insured. License checks also eliminate the possibility of collisions being caused by drivers who are unqualified, unauthorized or ineligible to drive. For the most comprehensive coverage, ongoing license monitoring will provide continuous scanning for infractions or incidents of any kind, with immediate notification when any occur.
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Across most organizations, typically 1-3% of fleet drivers can be classified as “Very High Risk”, and 3-10% of fleet drivers can be classified as “High/Medium” risk. Risk levels can be established by using inputs such as personal background, travel patterns, driving behaviors and attitudes. Being able to identify at-risk drivers helps you to predict on-road performance and implement individualized training based on risk classification.
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Utilizing a telematics program as part of a risk management program can help you to identify risk level and prescribe training based on driver performance. For example, the way that drivers accelerate, brake, corner, and use their cellphones contributes to their risk level on the road. Telematics programs that incorporate a behavioral change approach, encourage positive competition among colleagues, and utilize microlearning to coach drivers are powerful tools in risk management.
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The core principles of defensive driving should be reinforced to ALL drivers, even those not identified as high-risk. These principles include anticipating other drivers’ actions, identifying threats before they become problems and avoiding risky behavior behind the wheel that leads to distracted driving.
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Vehicle maintenance should be carried out on a routine basis, rather than “on demand”. This helps to improve fleet safety by ensuring vehicles are reliable. It also reduces the likelihood of breakdowns, in turn, helping to lower emergency repair costs.
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An exceptional risk management strategy will encompass the safety of employees outside of work, as well as the safety of their families to help reinforce safe driving principles 24x7. Achieving this requires a strong road safety culture and instilling in employees safe driving habits that they will take home with them. It could also involve making some training modules available to family members.
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Major collisions must be investigated so that the contributing factors can be determined, and changes can be made to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The involved driver should be taken off driving duties until the investigation is complete. The investigation should determine what, if any, remediation training/disciplinary action needs to be taken.
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Benchmarking can be a highly effective way of improving road safety within an organization. It provides insight into what is being done well, and what could be done better. Identifying effective practices from comparisons with other similar-sized organizations is enormously valuable and encourages innovative solutions. Benchmarking also assists with evaluating compliance against legal requirements and standards.
