Educated drivers bring a lot of value to organisations that have a mobile workforce. When drivers are kept up-to-date on safety protocols, and are always attentive to safe driving practices, they avoid the dangers of the road and save their employers time, energy, and money.
The best way to bring your drivers up to that standard is to implement a driver training programme. Fully-educated drivers are more adept at handling vehicles in any number of conditions they may face. Not only does training ensure your employees are protected – it lowers the costs your company may incur for vehicle maintenance and replacement.
While it’s impossible to guarantee accidents will never happen, driver training certainly makes them less likely, while ensuring health and safety compliance and reducing risk. This makes such a training programme essential to effective fleet management. In this blog, we explain the benefits of driver training in more detail.
Competent drivers reduce overall risk
When drivers are adequately trained, risk is reduced in a number of important ways. They are reminded of best practices in driver safety, and of risky driving behaviours that have become more or less ‘popular’. In training, any bad habits picked up from observing other drivers on the road can be identified and broken.
Your employees may encounter anything while driving, from bad weather to other irresponsible drivers and busy road work sites. While most are aware of those external risks, training reinforces the fact that they do exist, and helps drivers be more prepared to act safely in such events.
Furthermore, behaviours such as driving while using mobile phones, without adequate sleep, or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, make severe accidents more likely. Good fleet risk management entails that drivers learn your corporate policies around responsible vehicle operation, as well as the direct importance of their own action
Finally, well-rounded training includes instruction on how to be more comfortable while driving, such as ergonomic recommendations for reducing pain or fatigue. This leads to happier drivers with less opportunity for road rage – and safer vehicle operation.
Fleet integrity and vehicle uptime is more assured
When business depends fleet, keeping vehicles in prime condition is of utmost importance. Driver training translates to fewer accidents, meaning that more of your vehicles are on the road, longer.
Anything from minor fender-benders to a devastating wreckage can impose large cost burdens on your organisation. When employees are taught to handle higher-risk driving situations, as well as reminded to monitor their own habits when behind the wheel, they’ll be much more likely to return vehicles in top shape.
All in all, the training can directly lead to savings on vehicle repairs or replacements, as well as lower insurance costs over time. There will be fewer administrative headaches as well, as your fleet is more operational and in sync, more of the time. And, by striving for zero accidents, drivers will see their own stake in company success – and you’ll instil a sense of pride in the whole team.
Driver training aids in health and safety compliance
Compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act entails that your organisation takes all necessary steps to protect workers and minimise personal risks. Driver training is a major step towards full compliance with the law.
Because vehicles themselves are considered places of work, health and safety compliance requires that you pinpoint the risks and do what’s reasonable and necessary to minimize them. Training can encourage drivers in what they already do well – and importantly, alert them to possible changes they can make in their own habits to be more prudent and secure while on the road. In that way, training helps fulfil your company’s health and safety obligations.
First Rescue offers a range of tools for effective fleet management, whether you’re looking to reinforce current operations or your business needs a complete, customized solution. Our e-learning tool, Driving Safer, helps educate drivers on their responsibilities in operating vehicles safely, and encourages them to make the right choices behind the wheel.