Automotive Fleet, July 2018

FLEET CHALLENGES SOLVEDDont pay the price for high risk driversBY RICH RADIPoor drivers can signifi cantly impact your bottom line The Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA reported that motor vehicle crashes cost employers 60 billion annually in medical care legal expenses property damage and lost production alone This does not include indirect costs So what are these collisions really costing you Once you see the big picture of how these incidents affect your costs youll understand the urgency for a driver safety program that identifi es risky drivers and proactively corrects their behavior HIDDEN COST OF CRASHESOutside of the direct costs mentioned above crashes come with soft costs that affect your business indirectly Downtime Loss of effi ciency Administrative time Liability exposure Damage to reputation Loss of morale Vehicle valueAre you taking the right steps to protect your fl eet The chances of vehicle collisions occurring are higher when you dont have a comprehensive risk and safety program Failure to prioritize safety and address poor driver behavior puts your company at risk IDENTIFYING AT RISK DRIVERSYou need to identify your high risk drivers so you can address their defi ciencies By proactively pinpointing and training risky drivers you can prevent potential collisions In doing so you will also lower liability and limit collision costs Here are ways you can use Big Data and advanced analytics to identify and address driver behavior 1 Defi ne your expectations for driver behavior and methods for corrective action in a comprehensive driver policyLet your drivers know how you expect them to behave when behind the wheel of your vehicles and the corrective actions that will result if they behave otherwise Online training based on a policy that includes a signed acknowledgment by each driver is a solid plan for enforcing compliance 2 Continuously check Motor Vehicle Reports MVR to identify areas that need improvementRunning motor vehicle reports on both new and long term employees on an ongoing basis is imperative These reports show the drivers history including violations and license status so you can see where each driver needs improvement Continuous monitoring reduces the visibility gap when you only run MVRs annually 3 Assign online proactive and targeted driver trainingImplement an onboarding program for new drivers that includes a driving skills assessment and personalized training Provide basic routine training to all drivers and assign remedial training immediately after an incident 4 Collect real time data on driver behavior through telematics devicesTelematics technology essentially puts you inside the vehicle while your drivers are on the road Telematics devices register harsh braking sudden acceleration and more This data will allow you to identify drivers who may need additional education behind the wheel RETURN ON INVESTMENTWhen you make safety a priority and proactively address potential issues drivers are reminded to make the best choices while on the road When drivers operate safely they are better prepared to get the job done When you invest in your drivers safety youre investing in your company Avoid the collisions you never saw coming Visit FleetSafetySolved com to learn how ARI can empower you to improve driver performance minimize risk and reduce accident costs SPONSORED BYRICH RADI is a director of product management with ARI responsible for the companys premier workplace and fl eet safety program ARI Driver Excellence He has more than a decade of experience in developing solutions focused on driver safety using technology and advanced learning techniques