The first year in fleet management is challenging; therefore, focusing on driver safety must be your top priority. Accidents cost money and hurt your company’s reputation. Consequently, you must put an effective safety plan in place immediately. Telematics and video technology are powerful tools that help you monitor driver behavior and improve your safety scores. Furthermore, establishing clear, measurable benchmarks helps you track your progress from day one.

Establishing Your Safety Baseline

First, you need to know where your fleet stands right now. This is a critical step because you cannot improve what you do not measure. You should track the number of preventable accidents per one million miles driven. This key performance indicator, or KPI, gives you a strong safety baseline. Furthermore, you must begin monitoring risky driving behaviors. Companies like Verizon Connect use GPS tracking to monitor events such as harsh braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding. Furthermore, you can use these records to identify the drivers who need coaching. These specific data points help you target your safety training for maximum impact.

Leveraging Technology for Proactive Coaching

New fleet managers are finding that video telematics is very helpful. In-cab dashcams and forward-facing cameras provide important context for driving events. Therefore, footage can confirm a driver was not at fault in an accident, which protects your business. More importantly, real-time alerts from systems like those offered by Geotab can notify drivers of unsafe actions immediately. For example, if a driver starts tailgating, the system provides a verbal warning. Consequently, this immediate feedback encourages self-correction. Research shows that video telematics can significantly reduce crashes and injuries.

Setting Compliance and Maintenance Goals

Compliance with regulations is also crucial to a safe fleet. Since maintaining proper Hours of Service (HOS) records is mandatory, an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) solution is a must-have. Secondly, you need to track Preventative Maintenance (PM) Compliance. Your goal should be 100% compliance with your PM schedule because well-maintained vehicles are safer vehicles. Failure to maintain your fleet leads to breakdowns and increases your risk of accidents. Be sure to establish a standard Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) process, and mandate that drivers complete it daily. This helps catch minor issues before they become major safety hazards. When you focus on safety and compliance, you will build a successful operation.

Also read: Hours of Service Violations: Are Small Fleets Burning the Candle at Both Ends?