How To Protect Your Haulage Staff On The Road
Running a fleet of trucks is not the easiest thing to do. You are running a business that involves most of your staff being on the road at all hours of the day and night, transporting goods hundreds of miles in all directions. There are no easy ways to manage your staff on the road, except for stringent rules and regulations that they must adhere to while keeping CCTV in all vehicles to keep an eye on the drivers. The statistics for driving employees aren’t always easy to swallow and some of those statistics include the following:
- Younger drivers who are shift working are more at risk for fatal crashes related to tiredness.
- If your drivers sleep less than six hours per night, they triple their chances of vehicular collision.
- 13% of long distance drivers admit to falling asleep while driving at least once a month
Statistics like this can be shocking to read, but as an employer, you are the person bearing the costs and the liability of these accidents on the road. It stands to reason, then, that you would want to ensure that your staff are as safe as possible while they are doing their job. If your staff do find themselves in a truck accident, you could visit GBW.law today to find out your options available to you. With all of that in mind, what could you be doing to protect your staff on the road?
- Procedures. All new drivers that come on board your company need to have comprehensive training, regardless of whether they have had this training before with other companies. Written safety policies and procedures should emphasize the commitment of your company to reducing accidents on the road as well as maximising the safety of your drivers. All training has to be signed off and completed before drivers go out on the road.
- Consequences. When you’re on the road, you need to have consequences for unsafe practice. If your company dictates no smartphone usage and your CCTV footage picks it up, the driver needs to know that the consequences of prosecution – giving the illegality of using a mobile phone while driving – as well as losing their job are going to happen. Make it clear during training that the consequences are not negotiable.
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- Keep In Touch. Regular meetings about driver safety and comfort should be happening in your organisation and this is important. If drivers have any issues with their working conditions, they need to be able to tell you and you need to pay attention. Their time on the road is more than yours, and their comfort really does matter.
- MVR Checks. All driving records for all drivers should be checked and verified for work purposes. Not only that, you need to ensure that those who you hire are legally allowed to drive, with clean records. The character of your drivers really does matter on the road because you need to be able to trust them.
Protecting your staff is as much about protecting the public as well as yourself as a business.
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Hi, I'm Kelly O'Donnell.