Proactive Mid-Year Safety Reviews are Crucial

By the time mid-year arrives, you’ve likely settled into a routine. However, this is the perfect time to conduct a comprehensive safety plan review. Rather than waiting for an incident, you can proactively make adjustments to your safety plan and finish the year strong. It’s important to dig deeper than just accident reports. Those reports are lagging indicators—they tell you what has already gone wrong. Instead, you need to analyze leading indicators and have open conversations with your drivers.

Using Telematics and Data for Insights

Your telematics and dash cam systems are invaluable assets for this mid-year review. You should pull your reports on hard braking, speeding incidents, and rapid acceleration. The data from these events provides a roadmap to where your fleet’s greatest risks lie. Are you seeing patterns? Does a specific driver, a particular route, or a certain time of day show a higher concentration of risky events? According to a recent article by fleet-connection.com, these “near-misses” can reveal critical areas for improvement that, if left unaddressed, could lead to accidents.

Furthermore, your CSA score is another vital tool. Log into the FMCSA’s CSA Portal* and examine the specific violations within the BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories). If your points are from vehicle maintenance issues, like lights and tires, then your preventive maintenance program or pre-trip inspections may need shoring up. Similarly, if violations are in the Unsafe Driving or Hours of Service categories, direct driver coaching and training might be necessary.

Getting Real-World Feedback from Drivers

Data is a powerful tool, yet it can’t tell you everything. Your drivers are on the front lines, and their feedback is incredibly valuable. Therefore, you should host a mandatory, mid-year safety meeting. Be sure to provide lunch and make it a listening session. Ask drivers about the challenges they are seeing. Are there specific delivery locations that are consistently unsafe? What parts of their job create the most pressure to bend a rule? Listening to their ground-truth feedback and acting on it is the fastest way to earn their trust and build a strong safety culture. Finally, use this information to set two or three concrete goals for the second half of the year.

*NOTE:  The direct login page for motor carriers is: https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/ From this page, you will use your Login.gov account to access the “Safety Measurement System (SMS)” portal to view your company’s CSA scores and data.

Also Read: Using AI to Build a Proactive Fleet Safety Program and How to Keep Your Fleet Safe: Preventative Maintenance for Both Vehicles and Drivers