Fleet Management: A few tips

Managing a fleet of vehicles can be a tough job. There are so many factors that can affect your insurance experience, from bad driving habits to poor weather conditions. While it isn’t possible to prevent every time of accident, here are a few quick tips that may help you out, helping to ensure that your fleet is managed property and your insurance rates stay low!

First:

Check your vehicles: Have your driver’s give the vehicle a once over before they drive them. This will give them a quick overview to ensure that the vehicle is okay to drive. They will look for obsticles around it, low pressure on tires, obstructions etc.

Second:

Pressure to Perform: if your company boasts a time limit on their service, it would be in your best interest to re-evaluate that. If you offer a pickup/delivery service with 15 minute turn around – you put pressure on your drivers to get there faster, resulting in laspe of judgment and increased chance of collisions. Rather than advertising a certain time allotment, opt for a slogan that boasts your quick turn around time – with out giving numbers. You can tell your drivers to drive quickly, but safely first.

Third:

Obey the rules of the road – I have seen straight trucks wedged under bridges because the driver was not paying attention to the restricted height that he was passing through. running yellow lights, improper turns etc, put your vehicles at risk for a collision that could cost you money.

Finally:

Always keep an emergency kit in each and every vehicle. This kit would include jumper cables, first aid equipment (gauze, dressing, tweezers etc), flashlight (and extra batteries), road flares, maps, water, tools etc.

As always, it is best to be proactive than reactive. You have to take control of your fleet and ensure that your drivers are doing their best to drive carefully – they are the face of your company to the public – the publicity you receive is priceless.

Accidents will happen, but when you team up with the right broker – you will be ready for those times and the insurance company will be more forgiving because they know you are pro-actively trying to prevent them from happening.

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