Employees are any firm’s lifeblood. Keeping them happy, productive and safe is one of the ways in which a profitable business is created, and when some or all of your employees spend any significant amount of time on the road in the name of work, safety becomes a much more important element of this recipe for success. Although to some extent it will be the automotive nous of your workforce that enables them to stay safe, there are also many things you too can be doing to help them with this, indeed some of which you are bound to do by law.

All drivers, along with having their road documents checked before employment, should also be given proper training on driving for work. Driving as an employee can be very different to driving in leisure time, as increased time behind the wheel leads of course to a higher chance of an accident, very often from a lack of concentration brought on by these lengthened periods of time.

The ‘pass plus’ scheme in the UK is one way drivers can increase their skills, which is more suited to those who have recently passed their driving test, whilst many other centres offer specialised driving for work type courses, on top of the many qualifications needed to drive larger or heavy vehicles.

If your employees use company cars for their work, i.e. cars serviced, maintained and run by the company as opposed to the employee themselves, then regular checks on these cars, aside from the obligatory MOT tests should be done. If possible after every shift, with a checklist for common faults/dangers. This will also help with general upkeep of the vehicle, and budgeting for any costs that arise therein.

Vehicle tracking can be a useful investment not only for things like saving fuel and shortening routes, but also keeping staff members safe. Having a tracker means that speeding can be clamped down on (helping employees to help themselves!), the whereabouts of company vehicles and therefore drivers can be monitored in case of activity that might suggest an accident, and if anything does happen to the car and/or driver, a recovery truck – or in the worst–case scenario an ambulance – can be sent out to the exact location.

As well as regular checks on vehicles, all company transport should have in it somewhere equipment for adverse conditions. Things like a spare tyre and tools to fit it, a warm blanket, a torch, supply of water and snow socks are some of the things that could be included, but of course the climate in which you operate will largely dictate what should go in.

Daniel N is a UK blogger who writes on a wide-range of topics including business, finance and automotive tips. He is currently working on behalf  of UK-based vehicle tracking firm Remote Asset Management.

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