9 Tips on How Commercial Drivers Stay Safe on the Roads

Have you as a fleet manager worried about your vehicles being on road? If the answer was yes, then we have just the right solution to ensure the safety of your commercial drivers. Investing in a fleet management platform is a toolkit that can completely transform your fleet business. That means that it targets each and every fleet operation and optimises it.

For commercial fleets in the logistics industry, road transportation can be very dangerous. But fleet management software can reduce the risks by a lot! Let us find out how easily this is possible in the following sections. 

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Some Essential Safety Tips for Commercial Fleets

Driving a commercial vehicle on the roads is not easy. Drivers have to take care of a lot of parameters to ensure the safety of not just the vehicle, but also their consignment. 

Very often they have to transport high risk goods like inflammable substances. Errors during this can harm not just the reputation of the fleet business, but can also put the driver and vehicle in harm. 

Some ways fleet businesses can ensure safety for their commercial fleets are: 

1. Train Drivers to Drive Safely

The first and foremost way a fleet business can ensure that its drivers are safe is by properly training them. Sometimes drivers execute harmful acts without realising their gravity and this is where training helps. It helps them realise the consequences of their actions, thus propelling them to practise safety.

Driver behaviour monitoring systems can help fleet managers deduce which drivers require training based reports. This means they do not manually have to supervise each and every vehicle out-performing tasks. This not only promotes time efficiency but also helps eliminate errors. 

Training programs will also help harvest a competitive spirit amongst drivers. This can motivate them to perform better, boosting the overall safety of the fleet business. 

1. Discourage Harsh Driving

We already know that harsh driving is bad. But how can fleet businesses that are in charge of hundreds of vehicles need to be extra careful? Accidents can damage a lot more than vehicles. They can be a hit to a fleet business’ productivity, budget and reputation. After all, who wants to entrust their goods with a business that gets into accidents frequently?

Harsh dring come in the following forms:

• Idling
• Harsh Cornering
• Abrupt Braking
• Over Speeding
• Acceleration 

These activities can not only cause accidents but can also deteriorate vehicle health. This is why the driver behaviour monitoring system allows managers to ensure that their vehicles are safe. It alerts managers on the triggering of the above-mentioned events. Managers can take necessary actions to mitigate these situations. 

1. Keep Track of Your Fleet’s Preventive Maintenance 

Servicing and maintenance are two ways to make sure that a vehicle that is doing a task is in good consciousness. But maintenance can be of two types. First is the corrective maintenance that is done after an incident occurs. It allows managers to ensure that the damage done by accidents does not affect the vehicle in the future.

The second kind is preventive maintenance. It relies on the factor that a vehicle in good condition is way less likely to get into an accident. This is why creating a schedule for preventive maintenance can help managers ensure the safety of their commercial vehicles. 

Regular tire pressure checks and pollution checks can help identify early symptoms of any defects in the vehicle. This also helps to mitigate issues that might grow into huge problems leading to irreversible damage to the vehicle. 

The servicing and maintenance feature of the fleet management system makes this responsibility a lot easier to carry. All the managers have to do is schedule servicing procedures. The system will automatically notify them as the date for these processes closes in. 

1. Get Your Vehicles Checked up After Every Trip

Thai practice is essential. Every journey that a fleet vehicle embarks on leaves behind some form of wear and tear. Over time this damage accumulates and turns into bigger issues, sometimes even rendering the vehicle useless. But managers have the power to either stop or slow down this process.

They can schedule corrective maintenance check-ups using the GPS tracking platform. This will diminish the traces of journeys, especially for long haul vehicles. Thus, positively boosting the monetary gains of businesses. 

1. Plan Routes Keeping Road Conditions in Mind

Route planning is a process that needs meticulous concentration. If done manually, it is challenging to consider factors like road conditions for each and every vehicle. This is why the fleet management software allows managers to pre-plan their vehicle’s routes; this allows them to consider such factors before deciding on the route that their vehicle will take. 

But why go through all this effort? Well, travelling on bad roads can lead to damage to vehicles. It can also cause accidents due to drivers losing control of their vehicles. Ultimately, it will affect the business’ budget and also harm their vehicles. 

1. Take Care of Resting Period for Drivers

Drivers, especially ones working in long haul logistics businesses need to be on the road for extensive hours. This can take a toll on their health. Driving while tired can also be a reason for lacking concentration. Accidents can stem from such issues.

Overworking drivers can also lead to dissatisfaction, reducing driver retention. These issues are something that managers have to consider before they plan journeys for drivers. 

The vehicle tracking platform allows managers to use video telematics to judge if their drivers are tired using camera footage. This means they can instruct drivers to rest regularly. The system also ensures the safety of vehicles in parking mode. Thus, drivers can be stress-free during their rest. 

1. Use Tools to Navigate Vehicles’ Outside Surroundings

For large trucks, there are a lot of blind spots that drivers have to take care of. But accidents can still happen even after proper care. This is why the fleet management system allows managers to integrate cameras with their vehicles for a 360°view.

Multi-camera systems can help with this process. It allows drivers to see stops that were not visible before. This makes acts like backing a lot easier and safe. This technology can also be called ADAS. It helps drivers make decisions on the basis of alerts and alarms.

To understand this better, let us look at a case. A vehicle has to move back but the driver cannot see where it is going. The ADAS cameras will help them not only see this blind spot with real-time projection but will also alert them if they come too close to an object. This will prevent the vehicle from collisions. 

1. Document any Accidents or Incidents with the Dashcam

Dashcams have a very multi-dimensional use. They not only help drivers avoid accidents, but can also vouch for their innocence. How? When a vehicle is on the road, accidents are not always the driver’s fault. They can happen due to the surrounding vehicle’s fault as well. This means they In such cases, the dashcam footage can come handy to prove a driver’s innocence.

Insurance can be a very expensive affair for fleet businesses. But with video telematics solutions recording each incident of the vehicle, their premiums can come down. This is because this extra layer of safety reassures the insurance company that the vehicle will be less likely to get into accidents. 

The dashcam footage can also protect vehicles and fleet businesses against nuclear verdicts that have become more common than expected. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine. Investing in a fleet management system now seems to be much better than shelling out millions of dollars later.

1. Ensure Safety With TrackoBit

Throughout this article, we have gone through what advantages a fleet business can garner from a fleet management system. But this alone is not going to optimise your commercial fleet. The type of system you invest in also plays a huge role in ensuring safety. That is why TrackoBit is worth consideration. It offers users some of the most efficient solutions like:

• Route Planning 
• Driver Behaviour Monitoring
• Video Telematics 
• Fuel Management 
• Asset Tracking

Coming together these solutions can help optimise each and every operation of the fleet business. The system also allows managers to store information and then convert it into insightful resorts. These reports get stored in the system for up to six months, allowing long term data analysis. It also makes it easy for businesses to document their vehicles and drivers. 

The system has additional features that help maintain fleet business safety. These include parking mode, eLocks, battery disconnect alarm, and emergency button. All these come together to ensure that the vehicle remains safe even when parked or out of managers’ sight

In the End

As we saw above, the logistics fleet is at risk at several steps. This is why a fleet management system is an essential investment for the commercial fleet business. Not only does this system help businesses become profitable, but it also ensures their safety in the long run. But which fleet management software is correct for you? We have a great suggestion!

TrackoBit, the leading white label gps tracking software is the perfect combination of amazing features. This system helps businesses not only efficiently manage, but also customise their software. It helps them manage their fleet with the required features, targeting only the areas they want to optimise. So why wait to make a difference? Request a demo!