If you run a business that is reliant on your employees driving vehicles, then you need to be sure that they are safe when they are on the roads.
With 1.6 million accidents caused on the roads each year due to distracted driving, your business must have a plan in place to ensure that your employees do not become a part of this worrying statistic.
But how can you prevent your employees from getting distracted while they are driving?
One of the most effective ways of preventing your workers from getting distracted and causing accidents on the roads is through thorough employee training.
Here are the distracted driving solutions that your business can use to help keep your team safe on the roads.
Define What is Meant by Distracted Driving
Before you can begin to deliver the training that will help prevent distracted driving, you will need to define with your team what distracted driving means.
When we talk about distracted driving, this could mean talking on a mobile phone, texting, using navigation devices, or it could mean changing the music or the radio station.
Discuss the Consequences of Distracted Driving
By informing your employees of the high-frequency of accidents caused by distracted driving, you’ll be able to show why they should take care to avoid forming bad driving habits.
The National Safety Council estimates that 27% of all road traffic accidents are due to motorists using their mobile phones while driving.
By providing examples of accidents caused by distracted motorists using their mobile phones and other devices, you’ll be able to underline the importance of the training that you’re about to deliver.
Talk About the Financial Implications of Distracted Driving
When it comes to accidents caused by distracted driving, such as using a mobile phone while at the wheel, there are financial implications for both the employer and the employee.
Insurance costs will rise as a result.
In the event of restrictions placed on the employee’s license, they may no longer legally be able to drive. If this is the case, it could result in the employee being unable to carry out their duties to the company.
If an accident is caused by the reckless actions of an employee using a company vehicle and during working hours, then there may be grounds for dismissal.
All of this amounts to a significant financial loss to the employee.
Inform Your Employees on the Law Surrounding the Use of Phones When Driving
Do your employees know the specific laws surrounding what they can and can’t do with their mobile phones when they are driving?
Talk to your team through the legal consequences of texting and driving. Let them know exactly what penalty they could expect to receive, and also how it might affect their driving license and the cost of their future motor insurance premiums.
Talk through the penalties that they may face if they are spotted by the police and pulled over for using their phone while driving.
You should also discuss the various penalties that they could expect to face for causing a crash in this manner, including the types of sentences that they might receive in the event of a fatality.
Dispell the Multitasking Myth
Many people believe that they can multitask. They think that they are able to control a moving vehicle while either talking on the phone or texting.
It is not possible to safely do both at the same time. Those that have managed to do this before will have done so based on luck.
Talk about the multitasking myth and find ways of breaking this misconception with your employees.
Create Specific Policies and Communicate Them
Having a company-wide policy to manage drivers is essential.
While on the road, either in a company vehicle or in company time, they are a representative of the business. During this time, their actions can cause themselves and the organization damage.
By creating policies and procedures that tackle unwanted behaviors that lead to distracted driving, you’ll be defining what you expect of your employees.
The types of policy that you could include may be:
- All phones to be turned off when in a company vehicle
- If a call needs to be made, it should be done from a safe parked position
- Create policies that prevent eating or smoking while at the wheel
Discuss all these policies and procedures in-depth and ensure that there is a penalty for employees that disregard these.
Structure Your Training
Everyone learns in different ways. You should deliver your driver safety training in a way that includes every employee’s learning style.
Create a structure for your employee training. Include exercises that test their comprehension. Where possible use resources such as videos and images to enhance the message.
Review Your Employee Training Often
Employee training is not a one-time fix. It is essential that not only will all employees receive full and thorough instruction on how to prevent distracted driving, but that this training is refreshed often.
In addition to repeating your employee’s training on an ongoing basis, you will also need to update the training that you have created often.
Revisiting your training package will allow you to see if there have been any shifts in the way that people use technology. You’ll need to make updates to your training if this is the case.
Where needed, liaise with a training provider who can deliver sessions around the subject for you.
Review Your Motor Insurance Policies
Talk with your companies motor insurance provider. Discuss the level of cover that your company has for all its employees.
While employee training will help reduce the risk of an accident, there still needs to be adequate insurance in place in case the worst does happen.
Get in touch with Advance Insurance Solutions today to discuss the auto insurance policies available.