As an entrepreneur, you know how hard it is to ensure all areas of safety for your business. This is especially true when vehicles are in the picture. You might be wondering: how do I make sure both my company and employees are safe while on the road? Well, with the right tips, you’ll be taking all precautions necessary and your business will be thriving in no time.
Here are a few general safety tips for driving and on-the-road employees.
Set up a safe driving program
The first thing you can do to make sure your employees and vehicles are safe is to make a safe driving program for your business. In this case, upon being hired, employees will have to take the course as part of their training.
Motor vehicles are a leading cause of death and injury for all ages. You never want a car crash to happen—but you especially don’t want one in the case of running a business. That just screams liabilities and law suits.
The driver safety program will help:
- Save lives and reduce the risk of life-altering injuries within your workforce.
- Protect your organization’s human and financial resources.
- Guard against potential company and personal liabilities associated with crashes involving employees.
Setting up a driver program will ensure a “be safe” culture in your workplace by teaching your employees basic safe driving practices. Following this guideline is one of the smartest ways you can reduce motor vehicle crashes.
Plan routes
Another sure way to keep your employees and vehicles safe on the road are to plan the routes you’ll be taking. If your business travels far, check the weather forecast and travel news before the journey and figure out which route is going to be safest and fastest for your employee.
Timely route and traffic information is available from a range of organizations. Just make sure you’re taking other necessary precautions to your vehicle like checking tire pressures, oil, water, and fluid levels, etc. You don’t want your vehicle busting out on you in the middle of a trip, wasting both your hard-earned time and money.
Motor vehicle checks
Before allowing any employees to drive your vehicles, make sure you’re implementing a driving record check. Identifying potential hires with poor driving records is important. They could be a huge risk since they’re likely to drive less safely than those with clean driving records.
Even though you do a motor vehicle check upon hire doesn’t mean you’re finished, though. You should review driving records periodically to ensure that good driving is maintained.
Auto insurance
You’re taking all the necessary precautions to vehicle operation for your business. Regardless, you should invest in commercial auto insurance. Having coverage for your vehicle(s) as well as your employees is an absolute must. You don’t want to be stuck in a situation where there is a car accident and your vehicle is totaled or an employee gets injured. Otherwise, you’re looking at huge lawsuits and paying out of pocket. It’s a recipe for disaster. Protect your business with insurance. Depending on the nature of your business, and what you are using your vehicles for, you may even need to get specialist insurance to cover your particular business. For example, if you transport patients or people with additional needs , you may need to get NEMT insurance for your business arranged so that both drivers and those who use your service will be protected whilst they are on the road.
So, you have your business. It’s going great. You already have or you’re just now implementing vehicles into your company’s plan. With these safety tips, you’ll be sure to have a successful driving record for your business. Just make sure you’re doing driving record checks, enforcing a driver safety program, and you purchase auto insurance.
