Accidents are an unfortunate part of managing a fleet, and they always cost money. However, by using your GPS vehicle tracking system to help prevent accidents, you can minimize these costs. When an accident does occur, the safety protocols you have implemented will continue to save you money.
The first step is creating enforceable policies that will compel drivers to behave more safely. Developing policies is the easy part, but enforcing them can be more challenging if you don’t have an effective system in place. Fortunately, you can use your GPS vehicle tracking system to monitor the following driver behaviors:
- Hard braking – Quickly decelerating from high speeds increases the chance of being rear-ended. It can also be an indicator that the employee is driving too fast or not paying attention.
- Hard accelerating – Sudden changes in speed and fast take-offs are signs of aggressive driving and they reflect poorly on your company.
- Seat belt use – Whether or not a driver regularly wears a seat belt reflects on their commitment to safety. Seat belts also dramatically reduce the chances of death or serious injury if there is an accident.
Monitoring all of these behaviors will help increase driver accountability and keep your fleet safer. You can use your GPS vehicle tracking system to create text or email alerts, run reports, or compare driver behavior with analytics.
Saving Money with Seat Belts and GPS Vehicle Tracking
If an accident does happen, the costs will be less if the driver has their seat belt on. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average employer costs for an on-the-job accident are almost $28,000 if the driver was not wearing a seat belt. In contrast, the average cost drops to approximately $11,000 if the driver was wearing a seat belt.
That is a savings of about 60% simply for wearing a seat belt. This amount of money can have a real impact, especially for small businesses. If you have just one accident per year, the cost of your GPS tracking system is worth it if you can potentially save so much.
GPSTrackIt offers GPS vehicle tracking systems that allow you to monitor all of these unsafe driver behaviors and much more. Fleet managers and business owners can monitor activity from the office or in the field on a smart phone or tablet, so you will always know what is happening with each of your vehicles. Request a quote today to get started.
How much did your last fleet accident cost your company? Could it have been avoided if the driver knew their behavior was being monitored?
