Dangers of road rage and technology

A woman in Florida was being tailgated by an aggressive driver in a pick up, so she decided to take out her cell to get the incident on video.   When the road rager decided to pass her he gave her the bird and then lost control of his vehicle then crashed into a ditch taking out a light pole in the process.  Talk about instant gratification, but the woman filming the whole incident could have just as easily been the one who lost control and crashed.  Remember that two wrongs do not make a right.

As professional drivers, we see road rage directed at us and other drivers frequently.  We need to remember that we are professional drivers, and should act accordingly.  Neither the driver in the video below is a professional driver, and it shows.  If another driver is tailgating you or has harsh words for your mother its better to ignore them than to get back at them.  Do not pull out your phone and start making a YouTube video while driving.  The risks of causing an accident do not out weigh the benefits of getting 4 million views on YouTube in one day.  Remember the bigger picture and please drive safe.

Two easy ways to improve your company's safety rating

As you may know, the safety of a trucking company is tracked on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Safety Measurement System (SMS).  Performance is divided into Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) scores, which inform the DOT if intervention is necessary.  It is important that companies actively manage their BASIC scores to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the DOT.  Watching and improving BASIC scores can also result in lower insurance costs, but how can a company improve these scores?

                The vehicle maintenance and driver fitness BASICs are two of the easiest areas to improve.  Most of the violations that a company will receive in the driver fitness category are for drivers having expired DOT cards.  Make sure that someone is keeping a running list of medical card expiration dates.  Sure drivers should be responsible for keeping their DOT cards up to date but, it becomes the company’s problem when driver’s medical cards expire.  Now let’s talk about vehicle maintenance. 

                There is the old saying that “a camel is just a horse made by committee,” but committees can be helpful.  Creating a maintenance committee that is comprised of drivers, dispatchers, and the head of maintenance could help improving the company’s vehicle maintenance BASIC.  Allowing employees to identify and solve maintenance issues will give them more ownership of maintenance.  One note of caution about committees is that they can become a forum for complaints and morale killing, so it is important that management be present to steer the clear of becoming counter-productive.

The pros and cons of bonuses

Incentives such as fuel mileage and safety bonuses can send drivers a message that their hard work and effort is notices, but some bonuses can incentivize drivers to make bad decisions.  Giving drivers an on time bonus could push drivers who have become fatigued to continue to driving.  Many companies that offer an on time bonus will not penalize drivers if they are late on deliveries due to fatigue, or for other reasons beyond the driver’s control.  If your company offers or is thinking about offering performance incentives, consider the adverse effects these might cause.  Performance bonuses should incentivize hard work not incentivize dangerous behavior. 

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Safety as a Service Rolls Out A New Look

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