Best Practices to Decrease Workplace Auto Accidents


Posted December 10, 2017

On average, a car crash happens somewhere in the United States every five seconds. Many of these accidents happen during the workday or the commute to and from work.

Employers are generally liable for injuries that happen on the job, and may be responsible for those that happen during the course of a commute. Even if your company doesn't have a fleet of vehicles, it probably has commuters that drive to work. Therefore, a driver safety program can significantly lower the risks faced by your staff members while helping out your company's bottom line.

Below are some best practices common to many employers' driver safety programs.

Management commitment and employee buy-in

The safety of employees as they drive to, from and for work is so critical that it calls for attention from the highest levels of a company's management. Top-level management can supply leadership, lay out policies and set aside resources to develop a program and culture around safe driving.

Management also has a major role in actively encouraging worker participation and engagement at all levels of this company. The best way to maximize employee buy-in is to include them, starting with the primary planning phase.

Key safety policies

Develop a clear, thorough and enforceable group of safety policies to be the cornerstones of your driver safety program.

An alcohol and drug policy should state that the company has a vital interest in safe and efficient working conditions for its staff members. Therefore, the usage of alcohol or illegal substances by any worker during "work hours" must be prohibited. Work hours should include break periods and on-call periods.

A good driver safety program also has a seat belt use policy that recognizes the importance of seat belts in preventing loss of life.

These policies, and others in the program, ought to be posted throughout the workplace, and copies of these driver safety policies should be distributed periodically, as well as discussed at company meetings. Employees should be rewarded for sticking to the guidelines and suffer repercussions for disregarding them.

Accident reporting process

All companies need an accident reporting and investigation system. All accidents, regardless of severity, ought to be reported to the worker's manager as soon as possible after the incident. Business driver safety policies and procedures should plainly show drivers their obligations in a crash scenario. All crashes should be evaluated to find their cause and whether the incidents were possible to avoid. Knowing the root causes of crashes and why they are taking place, despite fault, establishes the basis for eliminating them down the road.

Regular vehicle maintenance and inspection

Correctly maintaining and consistently inspecting company vehicles is an essential part of avoiding accidents and correlated losses.

Employers should also review the safety measures of all vehicles to be considered for use. Vehicles with "best in class" status for impacts and overall safety ought to be favored over other models.

At Ambassador Personnel, safety is a top priority, and we support all the employee safety policies of our clients' companies. Please contact us today to find out how we, as a full-service staffing firm, can support your organization through custom staffing solutions and managed services.