Keeping your fleet safe on the road depends on making sure that your drivers are suitable and understand risks and responsibilities. Make sure that this is the case by following these five tips.

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Online training

Online training offers a convenient way to ensure that drivers have all the knowledge and information needed to keep both themselves and your vehicles safe. Courses can be tailor made to suit specific business needs and there are all sorts of videos already on the market which make it easy to pass on safety information to all kinds of drivers.

Vehicle-based training

This kind of training is effective but can be prohibitively expensive. This is why some companies only use this in the case of drivers demonstrating a bad record. Another option is to require employees to pay for their own training if they are involved in a pre-agreed number of preventable accidents.

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Rewards and incentives

Programmes of rewards and incentives have been proven to prevent accidents and boost safety awareness. It could be that your drivers are given a financial reward for looking after their vehicle and avoiding tickets or accidents for two years, or you could use a points-based system whereby drivers can work towards extra days off. Other ideas include trophies and raffles for the safest drivers.

Monitor driving records

You should ensure that you check driving licence information before hiring any employee and carry out regular monitoring checks. Find out more about this on the government website –
https://www.gov.uk/check-driving-information.

Just as vehicle tracking from suppliers such as http://www.vehicle-accessories.net/Vehicle-Tracking can reduce insurance costs, these licence checks can lower risks, and expenses, by making sure that only suitable drivers are hired and retained. They can also highlight any issues, such as frequent speeding, which can be addressed through education.

Newsletters

Newsletters and emails are invaluable in disseminating safety information. You can ensure that they are used to their best effect by tailored content to reflect your business and the types of accidents your drivers are involved in the most.

Try to ensure that correspondence is not too long to ensure that drivers are not put off from reading it, and include such topics as the use of mobile phones, defensive driving, road rage, tyre maintenance, seat belt use and driving in poor weather conditions.