Fleet Safety: Focus on drivers not vehicles
Publish date: 01/06/2025
Driver safety and compliance are the most important aspects of a fleet manager’s role, yet every day brings fresh challenges to running a smooth, safe and compliant operation. With targets to reduce downtime, control costs, meet legislation, improve fleet efficiency and deal with unexpected incidents, it’s easy to get lost in all the numbers.
Yet successfully managing incidents isn’t just about controlling costs and getting vehicles back on the road quickly. We mustn’t lose sight of what really matters; the people driving the vehicles. Here at FMG we equate every incident to the people affected, and tailor every fleet solution around providing outstanding care for the driver.
None of us want to think of our drivers being involved in an incident at work, and equating a fleet to the personalities behind the wheel rather than the number of vehicles can be key to establishing an ethos of driver safety and proactive incident prevention.
Monitoring driver wellbeing
Prioritising driver wellbeing is crucial for road safety. Typically, those who drive for work are a key demographic likely to suffer with poor mental health due to fatigue, stress, traffic congestion and unpredictable journey times and this can significantly impact driving ability.
Focusing on the driver before they get in the vehicle can potentially prevent incidents from happening. Emotional stress, work-related or not, social isolation, and other mental health challenges can all influence their level of risk on that journey and how they drive their vehicle. These factors can be the root cause behind speeding, harsh braking, acceleration and other driver behaviour red flags.
Here at FMG we provide employees with access to a qualified team of Mental Health First Aiders as well as a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme helpline to speak to somebody in confidence about work or personal issues. Monitoring driver wellbeing doesn’t just have a positive effect on driver safety it can also improve loyalty, driver engagement and staff retention.
Driver-focussed decision making
Driver data can help fleets understand why accidents are occurring, then base actions and strategies on insights derived from their own drivers to reduce the risk of incidents. By understanding patterns and trends within their driver community, managers can better understand the root causes of incidents and identify those factors they can influence to prevent further incidents.
For example, the location of repeat incidents can be examined for better lighting or signage, the weekly meeting rescheduled to avoid rush-hour driving or perhaps a targeted training programme is required. Harnessing the power of driver-focussed data analytics in this way can proactively support incident reduction.
Immediate roadside support available
Here at FMG we have a relentless commitment to driver safety and place a huge emphasis on assisting our customers to reduce their road risk. A key aspect of this is providing our customers with immediate driver and vehicle support should an incident occur whilst driving for business.
Our customers don’t operate on a 9-5 working day model so neither do we, instead we provide a UK-wide 24/7 response when our customers and their cars, vans, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles require assistance. Our first priority is the safety of the driver, our second, to get them moving again.
Fleet managers are required to take appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of their drivers at work, and this shift in mindset to focus on the driver rather than the vehicles can support a healthy work environment and sustained improvement in driver behaviour and incident reduction.