Many employees have access to a car as part of their employment package. If you’re an employer and you have a workforce on the move, it’s essential to understand your responsibilities and to take steps to protect your team and keep them safe. If you’re keen to avoid accident claims and injuries, here are some tips.
Maintaining Your Vehicles
If you provide your employees with access to vehicles, you must ensure that they are well-maintained. If cars haven’t been serviced for years, or there are issues with the tyres or the engine, this will increase the risk of accidents, and there is a chance that you could be held liable if your negligence is to blame. Keep track of service dates, ensure that vehicles are checked on a regular basis, and encourage your employees to report any problems or faults. If issues are raised, they should be addressed as swiftly as possible.
Encouraging Careful Driving
Ultimately, when an employee is behind the wheel, it is their responsibility to drive carefully, but if a member of staff is involved in an accident while traveling for work, you could be implicated. Ensure that anyone who has the keys to a vehicle with your name on it has the necessary skills and experience to operate that vehicle safely. You can reduce the risk of accidents caused by speeding, distracted driving and errors like failing to yield by providing additional training. This is particularly beneficial if your workforce is required to drive different types of vehicle or their jobs involves driving at speed. In this case, advanced courses may be beneficial to lower the risk of injuries.
Choosing the Right Vehicle
If you lease or buy new or used vehicles for company use, it pays to choose the right cars, vans or trucks. If safety is your main priority, check safety records, read reviews and look for vehicles that have additional features or gadgets that are designed to keep drivers and passengers safe. It’s worth reading magazines, looking at testimonials and browsing articles written by industry insiders to learn more about the kinds of features on offer today. As a business owner, you probably want to make sure that any branded cars or trucks look the part, but it’s also vital to put safety first.
Regulating Hours
Driving tired is one of the most common causes of car accidents. As an employer, you should try and ensure that your employee hours are regulated to reduce the risk of a member of staff getting behind the wheel when they are tired. If you’re tired, this slows reaction times, and it can also impact concentration levels.
If you’re an employer, and your staff has access to company cars or other vehicles, it’s important to take steps to protect them from accidents and injuries. Of course, it’s not always possible to swerve collisions on the road, but hopefully, these tips will come in handy. Invest in training, maintain vehicles properly and look for cars and trucks that have an excellent safety record.
