How to Protect Your Employees When They’re On The Road
As you know, the ultimate goal of business is to make more money than you spend. However, companies have an even greater responsibility than turning a profit, and that’s the safety of their employees and the general public.
Companies whose employees make deliveries or travel by company car to conduct business are exposed to greater safety risks than many other businesses. A car accident in a company car could be a tragedy for the employee and your company. The good news for enterprises that do a lot of traveling is that technology has provided ways to mitigate some of the risks of being on the road.
Get vicarious liability coverage.
U.S. federal law mandates that you must have car insurance for any vehicle you put on the road, and this applies especially to businesses. For example, lawn care and gardening business owners need to invest in several landscaping insurances, which include commercial automobile insurance. This type of liability policy covers damages derived from automobile accidents involving your company vehicle. Car accidents and commercial vehicle accidents often cause serious injuries and hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in property damage and medical bills.
The best way to protect your company’s financial assets in case of a company car accident is with vicarious liability insurance. If your employee is the at-fault driver in a serious accident while driving a company car, it could bring your company to financial ruin. It’s important to shop around to get the best coverage for your company to prevent your company from becoming another statistic of company car accidents.
Install governors in your vehicles.
As you can imagine, speeding is one of the leading causes of car accidents. You can’t be in the vehicle with your employees and manage the daily operations of your company. You also shouldn’t leave it to chance that your employees won’t speed when traveling in company vehicles.
Many delivery companies install speed governors on their company vehicles that prevent them from exceeding a predetermined speed. With control over how fast your vehicles travel, you can have peace of mind that your drivers aren’t unleashing their inner speed demon on company time.
Use smart technology to monitor driver behavior.
Many companies already use GPS devices to track the whereabouts of their vehicles and guide their drivers to their destinations. However, did you know that there are devices that monitor the behavior of drivers and report data back to company computers?
Many insurance companies use a device you can install in a vehicle to track the average speed a car travels, how hard the driver hits the brakes, and how fast they turn corners. These devices are also available for commercial vehicles. Driver behavior monitoring devices enable companies to hold their employees accountable for their actions behind the wheel and decrease the likelihood of company car accidents.
Schedule regular maintenance on your vehicles.
As important as it is to promote driver safety, it’s equally important to make sure your vehicles are in peak condition. A vehicle breakdown at the wrong time could be as costly as a reckless driver.
You don’t want your employees to have a blowout while in traffic or end up stranded on the side of the road for any reason. Scheduling regular maintenance is an investment in the integrity of your vehicles and the safety of your employees.
One of the most integral parts of building a great company is protecting your employees and your capital. It’s alarming how many enterprises go out of business every year due to the actions of their employees while driving a company vehicle.
You can protect your enterprise from vicarious liability by getting the right coverage, using speed governors and smart monitors, and scheduling regular maintenance for your company vehicles. The more your company is on the road, the more susceptible it is to commercial vehicle accidents, but with the proper accountability tools and insurance coverage, you can protect your employees and your company.