Employers Need Fleet Safety & Distracted Driving Policy
Last week I wrote a blog topic on Distracted Driving asking you to Just Stop! This risky driving behavior can be seen almost every time you travel. Yes, my use of ALMOST is just optimistic because I believe you will see the behaviors every time you are in your vehicle; even for short drives. Distracted driving is not limited to teenagers on joy rides.
Adults are just as risky and they can be seen texting and speaking on their phone during the workday. Even more frightening is when a truck driver is not fully paying attention to the road. Businesses need to take action by establishing vehicle usage policies for their Fleet as well as Personal Vehicle Usage including a Driver Acknowledgment confirming employee’s understanding and commitment to abiding by your policies.
Why? Really!
Cell phone usage is easy fodder for a plaintiffs lawyer in establishing blame and seeking damages after an accident occurs. Usage records that supply the detailed information connecting your employees phone use to the time of an accident are also easy to obtain from the telephone company. Employers are being held responsible if a worker causes an accident while talking on the phone.
Other types of distractions are not as easily tracked as that of cell phone usage. People will not routinely offer that they were distracted after an accident. The lack of tracking does not reduce your need to address other risky behaviors with your employees to protect themselves and your company. There is no guaranteed defense to liability, however, developing appropriate policies and then implementing them incorporating training, monitoring and effective enforcement can certainly help reduce accidents, injuries and limit potential liability.
Your Fleet Safety policy should include:
1. Driver acknowledgement form that explains what the employee is responsible for while driving for the company.
2. Cell phone use policy that limits or restricts usage and provides safe use instructions.
3. Process to inspect vehicles not only for mechanical items but for items that may cause unsafe behaviors, such as radar detectors, objects hanging from mirrors, loose materials laying about, writing pads designed for use while driving, etc.
CNA Insurance provided much of the detail for this blog. To further assist you attached is one of their Risk Control flyers including Sample Company Fleet Safety Policy & Sample Driver Acknowledgement:
Driver Distractions incl Driv acknowledgement
Now, more than ever, your loss history and management of risk impact how much you pay for your Business Automobile Insurance. Insurance companies are asking about your policies and procedures for many different types of Commercial Insurance. We can assist you in evaluating your coverage needs and supply you with insurance company risk control service to help you keep your insurance costs competitively priced.
To begin follow this link to begin: /coverage/commercial-vehicle-insurance/
