THE NUMBER 1 RESOURCE FOR VOCATIONAL TRUCK FLEETS
SmartDrive Systems concluded the second of two customer conferences that focused on shared learning and collaborations, discussing safety improvements stemmng from best practices.
Vocational trucks are susceptible to being targeted for staged accidents, which involves maneuvering an unsuspecting employee driver into an intentional crash in order to make a false insurance claim or to file a lawsuit against the driver’s employer.
The problem of distracted driving is not new, but as technology increasingly becomes a big part of life in the workplace, fleets need to put policies in place to prevent it.
The truck repair network now includes 1,010 shops that handle medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks and equipment.
The annual accident rate for commercial fleets is around 20%. Even with vehicle safety technology proliferating, traffic deaths are on the rise after years of decline. The culprit for the increase in fatalities is distracted driving.
A fleet cost reduction program goes straight to the corporate bottom line. If a company operates at a 10% annual net profit margin, reducing annual fleet expenses by $100,000 is the equivalent of generating $1 million in sales. Although fleet managers manage hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars in corporate assets, only half are incentivized to achieve targeted performance goals. I advocate incentivization should be a universal best practice extended to all fleet managers.
While technology can make a big impact on accident reduction, I believe one of the best ways to make progress toward the elimination of injuries and fatalities on the road is by creating a culture of safe drivers.
Technology is impacting accident costs on all sides, from helping to reduce the number of overall accidents to increasing the cost of accident repairs.
CMV crashes capture the nation’s attention and perpetuate the stereotype that commercial trucks cause or are involved in more fatal accidents than others. To mitigate risk and shatter this misconception, your team should be familiar with what is required of them and how a crash affects the motor carrier.
Any time you make an exception to fleet policy in resolving a driver-related problem, you may potentially create a new problem that will come back to haunt you in the future.