You may have employees out on the road for lots of reasons: driving for business trips, delivering goods, visiting clients and so on. Whatever the reason, it is important that both you and your employee are working together to keep them legal, and most importantly, safe on the road.
In this post, we will look at some of the things you need to think about when you have a fleet of employees out and about on the road.
Alcohol And Illegal Drugs Consumption
Your employees have every right to enjoy a drink or two when they are not at work, although obviously illegal drugs are a whole different story. However, for both of them, it is important for them to remember that they can still be found in the system days later – which can then impair and slow down their reactions on the road.
To stop this issue, undertake regular and random breath and urine tests on your drivers to check that they are not over the limit.
If they are, you need to make sure that they do not drive at all that day, even in their own car to get home. If they do get behind a wheel and are involved in an accident or are pulled over by the police, both you and they can end up in a lot of trouble.
Risk Assessments
Whatever sort of vehicle they drive, whether it is a car entirely owned by your company or an 18-wheeler, your driver should be inspecting their vehicle before every journey. However, it is your responsibility to arrange a professional inspection of the vehicle regularly and have any issues sorted out before it is driven again.
Weather conditions at certain times of the year can also have an impact on the safety and efficiency of your vehicles, so make sure that you’re taking the right steps to weather-proof your vehicles, such as putting on the correct tires, and keep everyone safe from harm.
You also need to ensure that they and you follow the tachograph rules. This will stop them from driving for too long without a break. It is a legal requirement to have this process in place.
Traffic Conditions
One of the main reasons for accidents, particularly on motorways and busty dual-carriages, is congestion and impatient drivers. By installing a GPS system for your driver, they will be aware of any difficult traffic conditions and may be able to avoid it by taking a different route.
Road congestion can also add a lot of time to journeys, and if the driver is making a lot of deliveries, it is crucial that they are not spending time in traffic jams. A good-quality GPS should eliminate these worries for you.
The Health Of The Driver
The most important thing to remember is that the health of your driver should take priority above everything else. If they have a cold, it is perfectly fine in most situations for them to be on the road, but both you and they need to take responsibility and not let them go out on the road if they are not in good enough health.
This protects both them and other road users from being involved in an accident that could have easily been avoided.
By following these steps, you should have happy, healthy, but most importantly, safe drivers out on the road, representing your business.
