Managers in the transport industry have a lot of responsibilities, and one of the most important is keeping their haulage drivers safe. While hauliers themselves are of course responsible for what they do on the road, managers have a lot of power to improve conditions for their entire fleet. In this article, we’ll explain how telematics technology can help keep transport workers safe.
Why Safety is so Important
In addition to the costs incurred by repairing vehicles and the disruption driver injury causes to schedules, safety has a big impact on the company’s overall success. Collisions are disastrous for the wider economy and your business’s reputation, leaving clients unsatisfied and orders unfilled.
Telematics
This technology has become a major part of the transport industry in recent decades, allowing the tracking of haulage drivers’ behaviour in real time. It is primarily used to improve efficiency, as it means fleets can be far more flexible in responding to road conditions and filling new jobs.
Data provided includes actions of:
•Sharp braking
•Acceleration and deceleration
•Speed violations
•Mobile phone usage
Driver Fault
According to the Department for Transport (DfT), 80% of accidents on UK roads are caused by driver fault. The issue, however, is that it’s often difficult to identify and predict which haulage drivers will cause problems.
Self-reporting isn’t enough, as workers obviously have incentives to present themselves as safer on the roads than they are. Worse, they may even be unaware of their own faults at the wheel.
Even screening at the recruitment stage isn’t enough, as a clean licence only indicates that no bad behaviour has yet been caught.
How Data can Improve Safety
Telematics provides managers a means to address these issues. If you know what to do with the wealth of data you can access, you can get a very detailed picture of the behaviour of individual haulage drivers.
Tracking actions and reactions in real time lets companies identify which workers are likely to engage in what kind of risky behaviours, as well as who to encourage for good performance.
Carrot and Stick
Of course, managers must ensure they actually act on their findings. Data renders potentially huge numbers of collisions preventable. But measures must be taken to ensure prevention. These should take the form of frequent interventions in haulage drivers’ practices. Companies should recognise the importance of frequent updates to worker training, and managers should be ready to highlight dangerous behaviours behind the wheel.
At the same time, you should take care to keep the working environment happy and comfortable. In addition to correcting misbehaviour, highlight and reward good practices. Don’t pit employees against each other: instead, encourage them to mutually support each other and promote safe driving.
Efficiency
These same practices have knock-on effects for efficiency, as dealing with problem workers and common issues will allow your company to better meet client needs, ensuring jobs are completed on time and to high standards.
Many insurers also offer lower rates to fleets that use detailed telematics data, further benefiting responsible businesses.
Technology can be a great tool for improving business practices across the board, and managers should always encourage the safest possible behaviour among their employees.
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching a haulage drivers with jobs in road transport and haulage work, and is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.
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