Have you ever been home with a sick kid watching Let’s Make a Deal and you start to realize that every other commercial on television is an auto accident attorney? Have you been injured in a vehicle crash? You are entitled to compensation. The next thing you hear is the voice of the client, my lawyer got me one million dollars, the insurance company was going to offer me less. Hmmmm….
The vast majority of civil litigation is personal injury lawsuits involving things like dog bites, defective products or medical malpractice, but according to the U.S. Department of Justice, motor vehicle accidents accounted for more than half of the personal injury cases (52% to be exact) and plaintiffs were successful about 61% of the time. The main causes of vehicle crashes according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration are alcohol, speeding, distracted driving, large truck accidents, and pedestrian and bicycle accidents.
These dangerous factors are well known, but what happens when you put an employee into a vehicle that you own? You give them the car, and you give them your insurance. Everything that they do behind the wheel can affect your business. Vehicle accidents leave your vehicle damaged or totaled and responsible for the injuries of your employee and anyone else they are found legally liable for. I’m going to share with you some tips to ensure that driver safety is a top priority for your company.
Tips for Driver Safety
1. Write a company policy to spell out rules for safe driving
Use your employee handbook to spell out the rules for using the company vehicle. Make sure that it is in your written policy to obey all the rules of the road, avoiding texting or calling while driving and exercise the proper due diligence to drive safely and maintain the security of the vehicle and its contents. Employees should be notified that they will be responsible for all driving infractions including fines as a result of their driving. Under no circumstances is the employee permitted to operate a company vehicle with any physical or mental impairment that may cause the employee to drive unsafely including the use of drugs or alcohol weather legal or illicit.
2. Check employee driving records
If your employees drive for work purposes, you should check their driving record to ensure they’re not prone to traffic violations and other driving-related offenses. Insurance carriers also have driver guidelines for acceptable drivers and those are important to know about and follow. The industry uses real data to formulate the guidelines for the ideal driver and the criteria vary but typically age, driving record (frequency and severity) and mileage driven are the main factors. You may be subject to adverse pricing based on driving records and past losses. To review a person’s driving record, you can obtain a motor vehicle report from the Department of Motor Vehicles in the state in which the employee is licensed. The employee will need to sign a release authorizing you to obtain that information from the DMV. Make sure employees understand that this will be required of them prior to their employment.
3. Implement driver safety training
Create a culture of driving safety within your company by developing and implementing a driver safety program. Hold seminars and workshops on a regular basis to properly train employees and ensure they understand what’s expected of them. You can provide refreshers on what they’ve learned by offering e-learning courses on driver safety. Many insurance carriers offer driver safety training on their web sites most of the time at a low or no cost with your commercial auto insurer. In addition, SimcoHR has a Learning Management System with several safety trainings available. Formal defensive driving courses are available through various sources and can offer discounts on your insurance.
4. Consider tracking vehicles with technology
There are several GPS trackers and monitors on the market all which allow you to monitor the speed and location of your company owned vehicles. Telematics is just one way to get just a little bit of control back from the use of your commercial vehicle by employees. The use of telematics can provide automatic reporting of mileage, driving time and time at a job site. It can encourage safe driving, reduce unauthorized vehicle use and improve vehicle security because you’ll know where it is 100% of the time. In addition, telematics can reduce the cost of your insurance, some up to 15%.
5. Have adequate insurance
Insurance policies are an important risk management tool for employers who have vehicles out on the road. Not only is the insurance statutory, but it plays an important part when accidents happen to indemnify those involved and protect the business’ bottom line when their driver is at fault. Most commercial auto policies start at a combined single limit of $1,000,000 and higher limits are available including coverage under an umbrella policy. With the proper vetting of employees and keeping up your vehicles’ maintenance, employee training and enforcing good driver policies you can safely navigate the waters of commercial auto.
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