Keeping Drivers Safe on the Road
How are you promoting safe driving within your organization? Changing behavior requires creativity and constant reinforcement. Consider fleet safety incentives to help reduce accidents, encourage employee safety, and improve your bottom line. If your organization is considering implementing a safety incentive program, here are suggestions to consider.
Start with a Safe Driving Program
A good incentive program starts with a strong safe driving program. OSHA recommends implementing a driver safety program to help save lives and reduce the risk of injuries in the workplace, protect your organization's human and financial resources, and to avoid potential company and personal liabilities associated with crashes involving employees driving for business.
Your program should promote a safe work culture. After employers train employees on safe driving practices, they can support the message by rewarding them with safety incentives.
Get Everyone Involved
In order for an organization to develop a strong safety culture, the emphasis must start at the top and engage all employees. Ownership across all levels reflects the importance of safe driving. Regardless of experience or position, all drivers can benefit from safe driving training. Encourage employee participation to help the program succeed.
Reward/Incentive Program
Incentive programs influence your work safety culture. The focus of your incentive program should be determined by what types of losses you are trying to prevent or the driving practices you want to encourage. Drivers can earn rewards for passing roadside inspections, Positive Driver Observations, safe driving records, and safe driving practices. Rewards can vary from recognition to monetary awards, or special privileges to help achieve your overall goal.
Here's one way to test if a commercial motor vehicle driver is conducting good pre- and post-trip inspections. Periodically before a driver begins his/her day, place a brightly colored card somewhere on a tractor-trailer that should be checked in a regular pre- or post-trip inspection. The card should be about the size of a business card, dated, and say, "If found on the date shown on the card, turn into your supervisor to redeem a reward." If the driver does not find the card, proper pre-trip inspections are not being done.
Incentive programs are an excellent way to recognize drivers and promote a team culture. To learn more about using safety incentives for your commercial motor vehicle drivers, use our Agency Locator service at BITCO.com to find a specialist agent near you.
For information purposes only. BITCO's blog content does not address all potential circumstances and is not a substitute for business, safety, or legal consultation.
