As a business owner, you most likely already know that one way of growing your business is lowering your overhead costs. One area in which you can lower costs and save money is with commercial drivers. Read on to see how you can make savings by keeping your commercial drivers safe whenever they’re out and about.
Fewer Accidents Mean Fewer Garage Costs
Apart from the more serious case of having a driver getting injured or suffering a fatality while on the road, damage to your vehicles is also a concern if an accident occurs. It goes without saying that if your commercial drivers know how to stay safe while on the road, there’s a lower chance of winding up with auto garage expenses.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that your drivers are able to stay alert and drive safely is to give them enough time to rest well. Hire enough drivers so that they can split shifts and get enough time to rest and come back to duty fresh and ready to get behind the wheel. After all, 30% of all commercial vehicle accidents are due to driver fatigue.
There’s a Lower Chance of Damaging Property
When your commercial drivers strive to stay safe on the road and succeed in doing it, they have a lower chance of damaging other people’s vehicles and property in an accident. This saves you from having to spend money on paying people who have had their property damaged by an accident involving one of your drivers. This includes vehicles and more that may not be covered by your insurance coverage, whose premiums may go up if your commercial vehicles are labeled as prone to accidents.
You Avoid Costly Lawsuits
Road accidents often result in lawsuits, which, apart from being very time-consuming, can also cost a lot to see through to the end. It, therefore, goes without saying that you will make considerable savings by staying out of court. If you put your drivers’ lives at risk, a lawsuit could also come from them and this won’t make things any better. Prevention is better than cure, so training your drivers regularly and ensuring that they are operating under safe conditions is well worth the time and money you spend on it.
Throughout the transportation network, almost 12 million trucks, vessels, rail cars, and locomotives are used to move goods. With so many vehicles operating on the network at any given time, it’s all too easy to have accidents and incidents that range from moderate to serious. Minimize the chances of any of them involving your drivers and you may not have to suffer through a lawsuit.
You Improve the Reputation of Your Business
Finally, when you have a low accident rate and your commercial drivers don’t make the headlines for negative reasons, this is a plus for the reputation of your business. Remember that it’s not always a driver’s fault when an accident occurs, but this detail may not matter much to third parties who hear about your drivers getting involved in car accidents.
For example, according to a study by Knott Laboratory on commercial vehicle towing accidents, a 35-mph crosswind can put a whopping 3,440 pounds of force that pushes against the side of a large trailer. This is enough to make a capable driver lose control of the vehicle. To avoid scenarios like these, you should desist from putting your drivers on the roads in severe weather. With a lower accident score, your business may enjoy a stellar reputation that sees more people eager to do business with you.
In these ways, keeping your commercial drivers safe can help you save a lot of money in your business. This should motivate you to do your part to make sure that your drivers are safe from the moment they set out to when they get back and call it a day.