Driver Safety Program

Develop/update a fleet poficy which includes a driver safety program ... 

Level of Motorisatioo Low Direct safely measures Personal Risk Trafic Risk Indirect safely measures Road safe statistics Road safety trend Road safety R D Road safety organisation Road safety program Road safety legislation Traffic police Driver education Alcohol In traffic Speed Seat belts Road standard Paved roads... 

The greatest driver in the system safety effort as we move into the twenty-first century will be the realization that a well-managed system safety program is cost-effective. It contributes to better design and better products—not only better in terms of safety but also better in terms of customer satisfaction. 

Putting the cart before the horse Industry studies continue to support the fact that the longer a driver stays with an individual carrier, the safer, more efficient, and profitable that driver becomes. Therefore, a critical element of any motor carrier s safety program would be to have effective human resource initiatives that improve driver retention. 

This next major section covers such topics as current safety management issues, driver and employee safety training and methods of training, and how to secure an acceptable return on your safety program investment — extremely important when tr3ung to get upper management to buy in to your safety vision. 

X Avoid excuses — If you want employees, drivers, and line-supervisors to be accountable for safety, then you must lead by example. This means holding yourself responsible for the overall results of your safety program. 

Employee/driver involvement is a critical element of any motor carrier safety program. 

Lesson learned Initial and continual driver safety training is considered a critical component of the overall safety program, and is viewed as an investment not as a cost. Consequently, one of your most important safety goals should be to establish a comprehensive driver training program that includes initial, refresher (annual), and remedial safety training for all drivers. 

Metrics on accident ratios, hours-of-service violations, and out-of-service violations are used as key indicators of the effectiveness of our safety program. Metrics are used by all levels of our organization from driver to CEO to measure performance. ... 

In terms of your safety program, Subpart D is the most important section of Part 383. It concerns disqualification, and you and your drivers must be familiar with the violations that can result in disqualification, because a disqualified driver must not get behind the wheel. 

This chapter discussed who has to have a CDL, how to obtain one, and how you can be disqualified. There is only a single recordkeeping requirement in Part 383 (when a driver notifies you of a conviction), but there are other important requirements that must be understood and incorporated into your safety program. 

As a driver selection tool, your road test is critically important. It is essential to your safety program that every new driver you bring on can demonstrate his or her driving skills and abilities. 

Since you and your organization are ultimately responsible for the actions, behaviors, and performance of your drivers, it s inccunbent upon you to control as many variables as possible, and not rely on others — especially those outside the company — to determine the quality of your drivers, or the results of your safety program. 

There are no record or documentation retention requirements found in Part 392. But this doesn t mean you should take Part 392 lightly. There are several important regulations and requirements you need to incorporate into your safety policies, driver training, and overall safety management program. 

How you ensure compliance is pretty much left up to you, your operations personnel, and your safety program. Yet ensuring your drivers comply with the HOS regulations is your responsibility — period, end of story. 

Drivers declared out of service is the next regulation we ll discuss. This is an important little safety management control, so make sure it is incorporated into your driver training and overall safety program. 

Operation Roadcheck The transportation industry is well aware of CVSA s Roadcheck, taking place for three days (72 hours) in early June of each year. The roadside inspection blitz is an intense truck and bus safety inspection effort conducted throughout Canada, Mexico, and the United States focusing on the international roadside inspection program and other commercial vehicle and driver safety programs. It is sponsored by CVSA, FMCSA, and other participating organizations, annually in June of each year. Published results... 

Upon arriving at the selected carrier, the authorized agent(s) generally begins the compliance review by conducting a brief interview and tour of the facility. The interview will consist of some basic questions about the carrier s operation, safety and driver training program, etc. 

Your safety program is a system Operating safely is an integral part of any transportation company. Accidents or injuries represent a failure in a system. Sometimes, workers or drivers simply make errors that immediately lead to a failure. Sometimes however, the system itself causes a failure. 

You need to establish an accident preventable non-prevent-able standard for the organization. Classifying accidents as either preventable or non-preventable is among your most important tasks since it can affect overall driver morale and the direction of your entire safety program. 

Let s face it, your drivers are an incredibly important and integral element of your overall safety program, and will, to a very large extent, determine its success or failure. Consequently, it s critical that the new drivers you bring in possess the right skills, knowledge, and attitude to make positive and profitable contributions to the organization. 

Identified what abilities you re looking for in a professional driver. Discovering if your new drivers possess all or most of the abilities listed is critically important. Remember, your safety program results are directly affected by the quality of the people you bring into the organization. 

So not only is driver retention critical to your overall safety program, it is also essential for a healthy bottom fine. 

Individual safety awards are certainly important to any safety program. However, because drivers lead a fairly independent lifestyle, all the more reason to make sure you have at least a few group rewards in your program. Doing so will help create a sense of teamwork and build stronger ties between your drivers and the company. 

Since every operation is rmique, there is no one-size-fits-all incentive plan. Consequently, this manual will not recommend or provide a specific performance-based or safety reward plan. As the Safety Pro it will be up to you to review your companys performance and safety data, driver turnover rate, exit interview data, and goals to determine what programs will work best for you. 

Description The great majority of preventable accidents can be shown to be directly related to the performance of the driver. It is therefore extremely productive to any fleet safety program to have careful new driver selection and adequate monitoring procedures for existing drivers. 

Description Fleet safe driving performance is dependent on management commitment to the implementation of a formal fleet safety program. An effective safety program will interact with most aspects of fleet operations and challenge the skills and knowledge of its supervisors and drivers. 

Motor Vehicle Guidelines for Employers— This document offers useful information to help employers design an effective driver safety program in their woikplace. It features a 10-step program outlining what an employer can do to improve traffic safety performance and minimize the risk of motor vehicle crashes. It also includes success stories from employers who have benefited from effective driver safety programs (2005). 

Fleet safety is often viewed as operator safety, which is definitely a key component of a company s attempt to protect its large dollar investment in vehicles and mobile equipment. It goes without saying that many of the accidents that occur are a direct result of driver error. But driver error is not the fault of the individual. It is the fault of management s failure to institute a fleet safety program that provides organization, direction, and accountability for the fleet of vehicles that the company owns. 

A Safety Management System (SMS), traditionally termed a safety program, is the driver of a company s safety culture and is defined as ongoing activities, processes, and efforts directed to control accidental losses by monitoring critical safety elements on an ongoing basis to reduce safety and health risks. ... 

Many of the reported events already will have been rectified so no further action will be required until a trend is identified that may indicate the need for further investigation. A number of near miss incidents reported involving vehicles may be an indicator that the transport safety program needs review and steps need to be taken to improve drivers skills/habits, etc. 

---