4 Keys to Driver Management

“Oh yeah, I’m a good driver”.

How many times have you told yourself that? I bet you’re laughing at yourself right now, because everyone thinks that they are a good driver. Reality is, if everyone was good at driving, there wouldn’t be as many accidents as there are. 

Finding ways to manage your drivers is of utmost importance when attempting to reduce the risk to your company. Plus as Malcolm Jeffris pointed out in his article 4 Ways to Lower Business Auto Insurance Costs, proper driver management is a key component of lowering your business’ auto insurance cost. 

Here are my 4 Keys to Driver Management.

1. Hiring Good Drivers – Obviously it’s much easier to be confident with your drivers when you start with good drivers, but how do you get there? It’s not a simple solution that we can cover in one paragraph, however, you must intentionally create a recruiting process to attract enough potential employees to your company. From there use keys #2 and 3 below to hire the best drivers. If you want help in creating a hiring and recruiting process register for our Hiring & Recruiting Masterclass.
2. Motor Vehicle Records (MVR’s) – Looking at an employee or potential employee’s driving record is a good way to start to understand their driving skills. Create a simple procedure within your company to ensure you analyze these records on an annual basis using an eligibility guideline to determine what an acceptable driving record looks like. For more information on how to create a MVR review process read our article Driver Risk Management. 
3. Driving Test – Once a driver has passed the MVR review, it is now time to actually see what they are capable of within your vehicle(s). Creating and administering a driving test is the truest way to determine whether or not an employee should be driving one of your vehicles. From our experience, too many companies skip this step and send drivers onto the road operating vehicles they are not familiar with. Remember, we all think we are good drivers! This article will help you create a simple driver test for your tree care company.
4. Dash Cams and Telematics – My final tip to managing your drivers may make some people uncomfortable; the use of technology in the form of dashboard cameras and telematics software. Using technology within the vehicle gives you the ability to get data and information on your drivers and vehicles in real time as well as helps resolve any incident or accident that vehicle is involved in. Dashboard cameras have the option to not only look out in front of the vehicle, but also scan the interior of the cab to monitor the driver and passengers’ behavior. With telematics software, a tree service can gather so much data about the vehicle and how it is being operated. From knowing where the vehicle is, to how long it has been idling, to fluid levels, using a software system to understand your vehicles can go a long way in keeping your drivers safe. Installing technology into your vehicles might feel like you are spying on your drivers, but if you truly want to keep your team and others safe on the road, knowing real data about the driving tendencies and vehicle performance is critical. 

Simply put, proactively managing your drivers will help you minimize accidents and injuries while increasing your company’s profitability. For help managing your drivers or other risk management processes, contact an ArboRisk team member today.