Driving for a living is no easy job. It requires a great deal of skill, not to mention it carries a lot of responsibility for the safety of others. As a commercial truck company owner it is your duty to ensure your drivers are safe on the road. Why? Because their safety directly impacts other drivers on the road, as well as your bottom line. The Department of Labor tickets tracking is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. In fact, logistics and transportation fleets have some of the highest numbers of accidents and fatalities on the job – and those numbers only seem to grow year by year.
By improving your commercial truck business safety, you not only ensure your driver’s safety, but you can also reduce costs associated with accidents, claims, charges, and increases in insurance premiums. Read on for the most common truck driving tips and advice on how to improve the overall safety of your drivers.
- Promote Defensive Driving
Defensive driving is a method that encourages commercial truck drivers to consistently be on the lookout for possible hazards and changes in road or driving conditions. Employees are encouraged to minimize the risk of accidents and injuries by anticipating risky situations and making safe, well-informed decisions while on the route. By implementing defensive driving techniques, commercial truck drivers can worry less about expensive repairs, claim payouts, and insurance premiums increases.
- Consider Bobtail Insurance
Another way to keep drivers safe and premiums low is the bobtail insurance policy. It’s liability coverage for drivers that pay for property damage or injuries to others that your driver causes while the trailer is detached from your truck.
This coverage is suitable for drivers who own their own truck, are chartered into a Motor Carrier, and sometimes drive without a trailer attached. For instance, a driver may drop offload and trailer and, while on-route to the next load, have a collision. When that happens without a trailing attached, the bobtail insurance coverage handles the costs associated with that collision.
- Implement Preventive Maintenance Schedules
Having a fleet precautionary maintenance program in place ensures you diagnose issues quickly and stay on track with routine service tasks. Commercial trucks that aren’t up-to-date with their regular maintenance- like brake pad and oil change- are more susceptible to break down on route.
Telematics and other useful software solutions offer real-time visibility into engine data and odometer, including faulty codes. With this data, you can build out robust preventive maintenance agendas based on the previous breakdown history, days, mileage, and more -plus get real-time notifications for critical codes.
While many fleet managers make an effort to prevent these risks, staying up to date with maintenance schedules can prove challenging when using spreadsheets or paper. That’s why more fleet managers are turning to fleet management software to manage PM schedules and keep drivers safe by reminding them to track and manage crucial routine maintenance tasks.