According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), more than a quarter of all road traffic incidents involve somebody who is driving as part of their work at the time.
Unsafe driving makes up the majority of road traffic accidents, which can be costly in terms of vehicle and equipment repairs, insurance, fines, property damage and, most importantly, the health and well-being of motorists and pedestrians alike.
Unfortunately, traffic accidents occur more frequently than commonly perceived therefore, as a fleet manager one of the biggest priorities within accident management operations is to keep your drivers and vehicles safe.
Introducing an accident management strategy can be one of the most effective money-saving measures for a company’s fleet. By managing accidents efficiently and quickly, companies can significantly reduce repair costs and vehicle downtime whilst ensuring their fleets are compliant with health and safety regulations.
Let's take a look at some of the most effective measures you can easily put into practice:
Accident Prevention
Many accidents can be avoided by implementing some simple processes. The ultimate goal for any fleet is to try and prevent accidents from happening. That’s where an effective accident management approach based on preventative maintenance, driver training and analysing of fleet data should be undertaken.
The more a fleet establishes methods that will prevent an accident from ever occurring in the first instance, means the less it will have to worry about managing an accident.
- Vehicle maintenance and management
Vehicles off the road and unscheduled repairs are one of a fleet’s most costly expenses.
Implementing an efficient and streamlined defect management system will help you to schedule regular fleet inspections as well as create alerts for important maintenance and service reminders so that vehicles are always safe on the road with minimal downtime.
- Weather variables
There’s no denying that the number of road accidents increases during bad weather, which is why it's important to ensure your drivers and vehicles are prepared for all weather conditions. While it's a priority to implement additional vehicle checks to take into account extreme weather during both winter and summer months, it's equally important to have drivers behind the wheel who are confident driving in adverse weather conditions and regularly ensure that they are well trained in applying safe driving practices.
- Driver Training
Unsafe driving makes up the majority of road traffic accidents – which are costly in terms of vehicle and equipment repairs, insurance, fines, damage and most importantly, the health and well-being of all road users.
Better trained, more confident drivers help reduce all these costs associated with accidents and result in significant benefits for the company.
Offering drivers training is key to reducing the number of accidents. A wide variety of training solutions are available to support drivers dependent on your fleet’s specific needs; these include training workshops, online and e-learning, on-road driver training, driver feedback and enhanced communication.
Communicating regularly and clearly to drivers about changes in legislation regarding driving, road safety and internal company policies surrounding zero-tolerance of phone use, drinking and drugs can also help to reinforce the importance of safer driving.
Handling accidents
Despite taking preventative measures, road accidents will inevitably happen within your fleet. To deal with these incidents as efficiently as possible, it's key to have effective procedures in place.
As soon as an accident happens, any driver should be aware of the reporting process and how this should be addressed.
Accident reporting can be simplified by introducing a comprehensive mobile reporting system that can be accessed in real-time, with valuable information such as photographic and location data.
With all the accident data processed, repairs and maintenance can quickly be scheduled with regular updates and monitoring of the status of repairs, enabling you to effectively manage vehicle downtime.
Future planning
Using a fleet’s accident statistics can help create detailed reports to understand any patterns of accident causes and the types of vehicles involved which can be used to analyse where changes can be made. This will then help to shape future preventative measures and avoid the repetition of these accidents recurring.
Investing in a fleet management software system that can store all accident data in a single secure place. From initial accident reporting right through to vehicle repair and getting it back on the road, you can instantly keep track of the entire accident management process, and revisit and analyse data providing valuable insights towards lowering the reoccurrence of future accidents.
How can Prolius Fleet transform your fleet operations?
While fleet accident management is just one of the many components for managing the smooth running of any fleet operation, the Prolius Fleet management system is designed to easily integrate with your fleet’s existing software allowing you to gain complete visibility across your entire fleet operations using real-time data to reduce costs and keep your vehicles and drivers safe.
The Prolius Fleet accident management solution helps you to operate more roadworthy, compliant vehicles as well as safer drivers and ultimately a fleet that operates more efficiently.
Schedule a demo to find out more about you can transform your fleet operations.