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Many businesses own vehicles, be it a single vehicle or an entire fleet. While commercial automotive insurance provides a great deal of financial protection, you might also like to concern yourself with methods for protecting your vehicles and employees and staying on the right side of the law. Even with insurance in place, the following policies and practices might be worth implementing before your employees use company-owned vehicles.
Accident Response Guidelines
Having accident response guidelines in place can be necessary to ensure your team knows what to do in the event of an accident. These guidelines might outline contact details for a car accident attorney, the steps to take after an accident like collecting information and not leaving the scene, and the process for filing claims with insurers or lawyers.
Having accident response guidelines won’t prevent an accident, but they might ensure any employee in an accident follows the most appropriate procedures for a clear-cut accident claim process post-collision.
Driving Rules
It’s easy to assume that everyone knows how to drive in the United States and follow the necessary road rules. However, assumptions aren’t facts. To protect your vehicles and your employees, provide a list of critical driving rules that all employees must follow.
These rules might include not drinking alcohol before or while driving, following all road rules, and wearing a seatbelt at all times. You might also have strict regulations around no cellphone use, especially as distracted driving contributes to thousands of deaths on the road each year.
Vehicle Use Guidelines
Most business owners are unaware of how employees treat their own vehicles, but you might have requirements for how they should treat yours. By putting policies and practices in place, all employees know your expectations, and there are no excuses not to abide by them.
These guidelines might include always abiding by the speed limit, always using company vehicles for business use like attending meetings and visiting clients, and locking and securing cars to avoid theft when they’re not in use.
Employee Practices
When you hire a new employee who will require the use of a fleet vehicle, don’t assume they are safe, trained, licensed drivers. Consult a business lawyer to draw up guidelines surrounding training and driving records.
You might also see the value in checking driving records to explore past infractions and see whether your employees have a history of violations. Some personality traits, such as tempers, might also raise the risk of auto accidents, which is something to be aware of.
When new employees are hired and are required to drive often or infrequently, consider driver training. Training courses might include safety practices like following distances, speed limits, and backing techniques.
Most employers likely won’t have any problems operating a fleet of vehicles and allowing their employees to drive them. However, it makes business sense from a legal and financial perspective to put practices in place to protect you and your team. Any of this information above might help you set a precedent for safe drivers now and into the future.
