If your business runs a fleet of vehicles that regularly deliver its products or services, the health and wellbeing of the drivers you employ should be paramount. Driving – particularly long-distance – is usually a sedentary job. Sitting in one position for long periods of time can lead to a range of health problems, and it can be easy for your employees to become tired or fatigued, which may lead to accidents. Failure to properly maintain your vehicles can also present a whole host of risks. So, what can you do to make sure all of your drivers stay safe, healthy and happy?
Create Rotas Allowing for Regular Breaks and Downtime
It is vital that you stick to hours of service regulations to prevent the development of health issues and the onset of driver fatigue. Make sure regular breaks are scheduled in long journeys – and that those breaks are carefully enforced. To ensure ELD compliance and prevent hours of service violations, you can invest in specialist fleet management solutions. The service providers will assist you in your ELD compliance while helping to keep your related costs down. You should also make sure that your drivers have a suitable number of days off to recover from long distance driving. Rotate your staff carefully to achieve this.
Invest in Dash Cams
Fleet management service providers can also supply you with specialist AI dash cams for incident prevention and detection. What’s more, if one of your drivers is in a collision, a dash cam will help to determine fault and liability.
Respond to Maintenance Issues Immediately
If a driver flags damage or vehicular faults – fix them right away. Not only could they become exacerbated over time and develop into something that is very expensive to resolve, but they could also cause serious problems out on the road that may lead to a collision. Keep track of your vehicles’ maintenance schedules, but also check in with staff about their condition between times to ensure they always remain fully functional.
Offer Health-Related Benefits
There are all sorts of perks you can offer your drivers to ensure they stay healthy. You could offer anything from subsidized gym memberships and regular checkups and physio sessions on a company health plan to well-planned approaches to the prevention of DVT and other driving-related conditions.
Provide Regular Training
Make sure you keep your drivers up to date and informed of the latest health advice and guidance. They should be thoroughly trained in matters of health and safety when first recruited – but it’s important that this training stays fresh in their minds throughout their employment with you. Keep their qualifications and certifications up to date and seek out new ones where available to make sure they are always well prepared for the challenges of the road. Most importantly, it’s a good idea to check in with each member of staff individually on a regular basis and give them an opportunity to report any issues or concerns. You can then address any issues that arise with specific attention.
