Tame risk, prevent collisions, and uncover opportunities
Transportation companies live with the fear that they’re one big collision away from catastrophe. And statistically speaking, that fear is well founded. The transportation industry has one of the highest fatal injuries rates in the UK, at twice the overall average. The waste and recycling industries have even higher rates at 16-18 times the overall average. According to the Department for Transport statistics, the average cost per fatal road injury is over 2 million pounds.
Traditional fleet safety programmes are designed to mitigate this cost by:
- Creating safety policies
- Lowering exposure to liability
- Establishing accident procedure plans
Increasingly, however, many companies are finding out that this reactive approach is not enough. Today, technology and the flow of data allow next-generation safety programmes to do more, helping companies not only predict and prevent accidents, but also create business opportunities.
Types of fleet safety solutions
Managing risk is no small task. Nearly every transportation company has a fleet safety management programme in place to tame risk. But not all programmes are equally effective or mature. The vast majority of programmes have components that are reactive. A subset of those also have preventive tools. Some also incorporate proactive strategies. And a handful of safety programmes are transformative for their organisations.
REACTIVE SAFETY PROGRAMMES
Exonerate drivers and comply with regulations.
- Have clear policies on distracted or drowsy driving, cell phone use, seatbelt use, following distance, and vehicle loading and unloading
- Maintain written procedures on driving training and discipline
- Train drivers on company procedures
- Assign drivers to vehicles to track vehicle data with drivers
- Track vehicles to respond to situations
- Communicate programme intent across the entire organisation
- Maintain Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports, hours of service, and other records required by regulation
Benefits of reactive fleet safety programmes
Reactive programmes can help organisations reduce their exposure to legal liability and, potentially, lower vehicle repair costs to boot. If the programme includes forward-facing cameras installed in the vehicle, there's also the potential to exonerate drivers who are not at fault.
PREVENTIVE SAFETY PROGRAMMES
Prioritise, predict, and prevent risk.
- Carefully screen and select safe drivers
- Use technology to track driver behaviour
- Train and coach drivers for continuous improvement
- Maintain a system of external accountability
- Stick to a preventive vehicle maintenance schedule
- Have in-house safety champions
Benefits of preventive fleet safety programmes
Organisations can extract risk with preventive strategies. By using technology to flag unsafe driving behaviour, for example, they can coach drivers away from bad habits before they lead to major collisions.
PROACTIVE SAFETY PROGRAMMES
Create a culture of safety.
- Have measurable programme goals
- Maintain a holistic approach to safety that cuts across organisational departments
- Receive top-to-bottom buy-in, including senior executive-level support
- Incorporate regular programme reviews to adjust to changes
- Have a formal driver recognition programme
- Focus on leading indicators, such as seatbelt use and aggressive driving
- Monitor trending behaviours
- Use analytics to prioritise safety initiatives
- Regularly share new insights with employees
Benefits of proactive fleet safety programmes
In addition to extracting risk, proactive safety programmes incorporate a strong safety culture that reinforces the larger safety mission. At top executive levels, safety becomes an organisational priority. On the front lines, safety is internalised so drivers and supervisors are always motivated to do what's right, even when no one is watching.
TRANSFORMATIVE SAFETY PROGRAMMES
Use safety to identify business opportunities.
- Take advantage of driver self-training systems to supplement active coaching
- Use safety strategies as a way to boost driver satisfaction and retain the best drivers
- Improve customer confidence, vehicle maintenence, and driver professionalism
- Leverage fleet safety record to win new customers
- Integrate safety and operational systems to extract further risk while increasing efficiency
- Leverage data to predict areas of risk
- Have a safety culture that motivates drivers to do the right thing when no one is watching
Benefits of transformative fleet safety programmes
Transformative programmes take things one step further. Employees are continuously looking for ways to improve, and the organisation is flexible enough to quickly make changes, measure and advance. Benefits of this approach include fleet safety management solutions such as: higher driver retention, increased customer confidence, ability to identify new revenue opportunities, and increased operational efficiencies.
How video telematics bolster fleet safety management programmes
Telematics are increasingly becoming standard for fleet managers because of the high value of predictive fleet safety analytics. However, basic telematics are only able to tell part of the story. When combined with video, telematics can become significantly more effective. Some examples:
Video clips that show what's happening on the road and the driver's reaction can give full context to events such as hard braking or swerving. Was the driver not paying attention? Or was the driver reacting to successfully avoid a collision after a car abruptly cuts in front of the vehicle? A fleet safety programme that uses video triggered by events can help answer those questions and reveal the true cause of collisions.
How Lytx can help
Lytx® video telematics solutions allow you to combine video-based coaching with prective analytics to help you take action before a collision happens. Our solutions are proven to change driver behaviour and deliver rapid return on your investment to save you time, money--and most importantly, lives. The DriveCam® event recorder's on-demand continual video and live stream of the road extends your visibility to show you more critical moments, revealing further operational efficiencies and additional opportunities to service customers.
Learn more about how Lytx can help you achieve next-level safety performance from your fleet by scheduling a demo today.