By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving
June 12, 2022
The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number one cause of workplace deaths is motor vehicle crashes, accounting for more than 37 percent of all work-related deaths. It’s a sobering statistic, which is why this month’s National Safety Month, is an ideal opportunity for businesses with employees “driving for work purposes” to consider if they are doing everything they can to keep their drivers safe.
Sadly, too often, driver training is a “checkbox” exercise to simply meet health and safety requirements, or an initiative implemented in response to an incident or collision, especially one involving injuries. Road safety needs to be ingrained in company culture. “What interests the boss, fascinates and engages the employees” is a popular eDriving mantra. What we mean is whatever the boss considers important and worthy of focus will become the focus of employees too. If employers don’t prioritize road safety, why should their staff? Organizations need to play their part to bring these figures down.
We talk a lot at eDriving about creating a crash-free culture®. With safety at the forefront of everyone’s mind in June, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how they can get a driver safety program off the ground or take their existing program to a new level. Along those lines, here are five tips to reducing driver risk and creating a safer work environment:
1. Talk!
It’s a simple suggestion, but an important one! Talking about road safety in internal and external communications reinforces an organization’s commitment to road safety. If employers don’t talk about it, how will employees know that the company takes it seriously? Organizations could benefit from creating road safety ambassador roles to focus on the safety mission and promote the message to colleagues. Use formal and informal channels of communication.
2. Know your drivers
If organizations can identify their at-risk drivers, they can more accurately predict organizational exposure, and implement targeted driver interventions that will have the biggest impact. Likewise, it is also important that good drivers be recognized and celebrated.
3. Be proactive, not reactive
Implement systems and processes to:
• Check driver licenses on an ongoing basis for immediate notification of any violations.
• Ensure vehicles are maintained/serviced to prevent avoidable mishaps on the road.
• Monitor driver behavior and performance using validated driver assessment, and predictive driver scoring, either with or without telematics
• Provide targeted and ongoing training to drivers
• Provide individualized coaching to high-risk drivers
4. Provide effective, engaging driver training
It is well known that 94 per cent of all road incidents are caused by some aspect of driver behavior or attitude. It’s essential that training is delivered to ALL drivers, not just risky drivers, to help reduce preventable crashes. Organizations can reinforce the core principles of defensive driving to help their drivers rethink the common hazardous attitudes and behaviors they may have adopted, often without realizing. Effective training should engage and motivate drivers and should be implemented as part of a holistic driver management program, not in isolation. Consider the following best practices:
• Use interactive micro-training (<5 min. modules)
• Ensure content is contextual & relevant
• Incorporate exercises that help drivers practice making decisions in real-life scenarios
• Deliver universal core training prescribed to all drivers to provide solid foundation and/or refresher
• Employ targeted training to address drivers’ specific risk exposures and weaknesses
5. Go above and beyond
Finally, road safety is a company’s legal responsibility when drivers are on the road for work. But what happens at the end of the day when employees drive home? It’s not just about reducing workplace collisions and lowering insurance costs. A true crash-free culture instills safe driving habits in employees that they will take home with them, ensuring they return safely to their loved ones at the end of every day not just the working day. And employers’ responsibility to protect their drivers shouldn’t end at the close of the workday. Consider providing drivers with access to emergency response services that can be automatically invoked following crashes or personal emergencies to provide 24 x 7 peace of mind.
About the author
Ed’s passion is helping companies proactively manage driver risk and prioritize the safety of their employees who drive for work purposes. The ultimate goal of eDriving’s programs is to help drivers return home safely to their loved ones and communities at the end of each day. Ed has been fortunate enough to be living out his passion for over 25 years, impacting lives and helping transform the field of driver risk management along the way.