Fontana: Let’s keep up the good work on fleet safety

Spec’ing and training: The foundation of fleet safety

Fleet safety starts with the way the vehicle is spec’d. Some manufacturers have proprietary advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), while others have partnered with industry suppliers. Either way, ADAS is available to be spec’d on every truck. Fleets can choose from a variety of options, such as collision mitigation, lane departure warning, and lane keeping, as well as blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking. Spec’ing any or all of these is a good first step in improving fleet safety.

In addition to spec’ing safety systems, you need to ensure that drivers are adequately trained in how the systems work and remind them that these systems do not replace safe driving practices but rather assist them—as the name implies—in their efforts to drive safely.

Driver training also needs to focus on safe driving practices, such as avoiding hard braking, removing distractions, and driving defensively. Driver training should be an ongoing process. While stressing the importance of safe driving during driver orientation is critical, safe driving is something that needs to be reinforced continually in driver meetings and communications. Driver safety must be embraced by top management, and managers must ensure they consistently deliver the company’s safety message.

Data, incentives, and maintenance: Reinforcing a culture of safety

The fact that fleets have access to data about driver behavior is something that can be leveraged when coaching drivers. The data fleets can get from telematics devices provides a clear roadmap to where and when unsafe driving occurred. Driver managers can point to specific incidents of hard braking or hard acceleration, for example. Having concrete information takes the emotional element out of the conversation and helps tailor coaching to the specific area where the driver needs to improve.

One good way to reinforce safety is to incentivize drivers for safe driving practices and then reward those who achieve safety milestones. Make sure that acknowledgement and rewarding are done in a very public way.

Another element of operating a safe fleet is to make sure all vehicles are well-maintained. In addition to regularly scheduled preventive maintenance, trucks must also be brought into the shop for safety-related issues that are identified during their pre- and post-trip inspections. Maintenance compliance must be as close to 100% as possible.

All of these elements taken together will improve fleet safety. While the ATA study shows that fleets are making a considerable investment in safety, safety is something we as an industry need to continue to be vigilant about, continuing to invest in being as safe as possible.