Three Best Practices for Improving Driver Risk Management

SambaSafety, the market leader in mobility risk data solutions presents:
Three Best Practices for Improving Driver Risk Management

Managing driver risk may seem like a monumental task, but the truth is that it’s money and time well spent. Industry statistics show that for every $1 spent on improving workplace safety, more than $4 can be returned on investment. So, what can companies do to create a culture of driver safety? They can start with three simple best practices that focus on monitoring, insight, and action.

1. CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR: UNDERSTAND DRIVER BEHAVIOR FROM HIRE TO RETIRERetrieving MVRs, validating driver’s license information, and conducting background checks on prospective employees before they are on the road are critical first steps. But an MVR pulled once a year merely captures a snapshot of a driver’s performance. What about the other 364 days of the year? Industry research shows that companies with the lowest number of crash incidents take a comprehensive approach and monitors drivers all year long as opposed to the traditional method of pulling one Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) per person, per year. Unfortunately, constantly monitoring MVRs may be expensive depending on the state. Cost-effective monitoring instead combines the power of a baseline MVR with early alert data such as court records, state violation databases, driver scoring, and other data sources to ensure employers are alerted to potential risks and challenges. For a comprehensive view, employers should consider harnessing cloud-based solutions that manage all driver information in one place.
2. LEVERAGE INSIGHTS: CREATE A SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH ABOUT YOUR DRIVERSThe next generation of driver risk management requires employers to create a single source of truth — violations, MVRs, accident reports, costs, compliance documentation, etc. — for all driver information and performance. While the information contained in the single source of truth is incredibly valuable and allows the employer to build driver and fleet profiles, what’s more important is that it provides assurance that the employer has qualified people behind the wheel through:-Actionable insights that can highlight behavior and training issues
   -Uniform policy enforcement across different classes of drivers and geographies
   -Benchmarking to compare drivers and fleets to internal and industry standards
   -A comprehensive single source of truth is an effective tool that can limit exposure, save time, and reduce costs.
3. TAKE ACTION: ENSURE CORRECT BEHAVIOREmployers can then leverage the “single source of truth” about driver performance to take action on problem areas or to proactively improve driver safety. For example, providing a way to deliver online training courses, benchmarking individual driver and fleet performance against industry averages, and enforcing policies gives employers the ability to understand key trends — for the driver and the entire company.

Documented driver performance and actions taken by an employer can help reduce the cost of insurance and workers compensation premiums and are a proven weapon in the event that a work-related crash results in litigation. At the end of the day, managing and monitoring driver performances also requires consistent communication and a commitment to enforcing stated company driving policies. When employees understand what is expected of them — and those expectations are reinforced by employers — both win.

And why can’t this communication also be fun? By recognizing and rewarding employees for safe driver performances, it creates a culture that not only supports driver safety but recognizes it when it happens. Employers should consider imposing quarterly reward programs that take into account the number of consecutive days without a motor vehicle incident or acknowledging employee completion of online driver training programs with a certificate to mark the occasion.

Learn more about SambaSafety, the market leader in mobility risk data solutions.