Your commercial fleet is one of the most valuable assets to your business and so are those employees who drive them. Today’s technology has taken driver and vehicle monitoring well beyond the days of “1-800-How’s My Driving” decals. Telematics and duel facing cameras allow business owners, as well as fleet and safety managers to effectively monitor work efficiency, fuel savings, unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle and driver behaviors, all of which help you control costs and protect your business.
Why is it important for you to monitor your driver’s behavior on the road? There are several reasons for this, with protecting your company’s liability and your employee(s) being the primary concerns. Negligent entrustment laws require you as the business owner to place qualified individuals behind the wheel of your company vehicles. This includes negligent hiring and negligent retention. The bottom line is as an employer you need to make sure anyone driving a company vehicle or a personal vehicle for company use regularly is a qualified driver. That means making sure they have a valid license, checking their MVR upon hire and at least annually and having a written criterion of acceptability for new and existing drivers. Having written safety rules in place and providing regular driver training are also measures that can protect your company. The use of telematics and dash cams help employers monitor driver behaviors and allow for documented coaching when poor trends are identified correcting the problem.
Telematics
These systems include GPS tracking and other data that can be translated into meaningful information to help your business track fuel consumption, odometer readings, time and day of travel, diagnostic trouble codes, speeding, idling and more. Understanding your driving and vehicle use data can help improve:
• Economical driving
• Fuel economy
• Operator hours
• Engine idling
• Harsh braking
• Aggressive driving
• Excessive speeding
Dash Cams
These camera systems can help protect your company when used by recording and saving real time driving footage providing safety managers with:
• Evidence of an accident
• Ways to mitigate future risks
• Enhanced driver training programs
• Security and theft prevention
Having these fleet safety systems can help you manage your fleet’s efficiency, your driver’s safety, and your company’s liability if actively monitored and the data is acted upon routinely. It is recommended that you develop and implement a written program outlining what actions will be taken for the identification of negative driving behaviors to include documented coaching, training, and discipline, when necessary.
