Every year there are more than 6 million car accidents in America. Many of the accidents that happen would be preventable if road safety procedures were followed and vehicles were kept well-maintained and in good condition. When you have business vehicles that are used by yourself and your employees, it is your responsibility to make sure that all safety procedures are followed. An effective safety program will ensure that the chances of an accident are greatly reduced and you can have confidence in the reliability of your business vehicles.
Providing motor vehicle safety training
Motor vehicle safety training and regular refresher training are essential if you have employees driving business vehicles. You should aim to cover best practices for cautious and safe driving and the relevant laws, for example, speed limits and load weights. It is worth talking about local driving issues too. For instance in Starr County, Texas, Highway 83 is listed as one of the most dangerous roads in America and is often heavily congested with large commercial vehicles. It is important to be extremely vigilant if you are driving a smaller vehicle on Highway 83. This kind of local knowledge can be extremely useful when talking about road safety and should be covered in your business vehicle safety training. Consider including training in CPR and first aid in order to raise the level of safety and prepare the drivers for any situation.
Recognizing vehicle defects
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure that all drivers are able to recognize when there are defects with company vehicles. They should be able to understand what the warning lights on the dashboard mean and know the procedure for organizing repairs and maintenance. You may want to give a specific employee the responsibility of simple maintenance tasks, including keeping vehicle fluids at the right levels and making sure that the tires are always properly inflated. Each business vehicle should also be equipped with a basic safety kit including reflective triangles, a first aid kit, a torch and jumper cables.
Vehicle inspection and devices
An effective vehicle safety program should include a procedure for inspecting the vehicles before and after each business trip. You should use a uniform inspection checklist, such as The Checker to keep records. This can prevent unsafe vehicles from being used for business journeys. It is worth mentioning that if personal vehicles are used by employees for business trips, then these should also be inspected every time they are used. Using devices whilst you are driving can lead to accidents – according to the CDC, there are over 400,000 accidents every year due to distracted driving. You may wish to ban the use of devices and smartphones completely in business vehicles, unless they are mounted in a bracket in the car and used for GPS.
If you have vehicles that are used for business purposes, then it is your responsibility to make sure that they are roadworthy. All employees should regularly have training in road safety so that you can cut down the risk of accidents.