Managing the finances of a business means always being prepared for the unexpected. For companies managing fleets, that involves accounting for the chance of accidents.
Crashes are never 100% preventable, so understanding the financial risks ahead of time is key.
Managing the health and safety of the drivers in your vehicle fleet can be challenging. Some accidents - like unknown vehicle faults or car park mishaps - aren't considered preventable. But front- and rear-end collisions, improper lane changes, inappropriate parking, and carelessness at intersections are usually avoidable by skilled fleet drivers, even when the other, non-employee party is at fault.
How do you minimise accidents with a mobile workforce?
It’s hard to know where to begin, especially when the liability falls directly on your shoulders - creating a culture of safe, responsible driving is an important task. Therefore, any activity that promotes driver safety is worth pursuing, for both staff safety and company longevity.
When a mobile workforce is a vital part of operations, survival can be challenging as it means making sure the fleet always runs smoothly.
While a fleet is rarely impacted by accidents and features low overall risk, it safeguards the business it serves. But to achieve this, fleet risk management is essential. It’s the only way to be certain you're bringing risk to a minimum, ensuring driver safety, and staying compliant with Health & Safety laws.
Imagine having complete, up-to-the-minute knowledge of your fleet operations - information that puts you straight in the ‘driver’s seat’ so to speak.
You could instantly see whether there are enough vehicles dispatched, allowing you to resource accordingly. You’d see the red flags of impending accidents. And you'd have detailed reporting to ensure your drivers are hitting benchmarks. These are just some of the ways that accurate, real-time fleet data can make your job so much easier.
The ‘dream’ mobile workforce is a well-oiled machine that always runs smoothly. Of course, that’s almost never the case.
Accidents are a reality, and the fallout is all too familiar: middle-of-the-night awakenings, worries about possible employee injuries, third party insurance claims, a mountain of admin work and major costs from vehicle downtime.
There’s never enough time in a day to address all the problems that can happen with a mobile workforce. In fact, fleet accidents can happen late at night, long after you’ve left the office.
That’s why a solid accident management plan is extremely important to have in place. When the hassles of fleet crashes arise, it can seem nearly impossible to handle the fallout on your own, while keeping your company out of legal and financial entanglements.
If life were perfect, your mobile workforce would always be in top form. Accidents would never occur. You’d be able to keep your employees safe and you'd never face the middle-of-the-night stress and worry of costly incidents and the admin that comes with it.
Complying with health and safety rules should be top of mind when you have a fleet to supervise. With the responsibility of keeping your drivers safe, you are likely imagining every way possible to reduce road accidents.
When you're in charge of a mobile workforce, you're responsible for your workers’ health and safety under all circumstances, including bad weather. Winters mean more rainy days and wetter roads, which present many unique hazards to your fleet.
