Although many accidents that happen today are caused by improper driving, the underlying reasons are often preventable. Last year alone, there were over 500,000 large truck and commercial vehicle accidents. Commercial drivers who are well trained and supported will better understand how to prevent accidents from occurring.
If you look at the top 10 reasons accidents happen, you’ll see that all of them are preventable with proper driver training, adherence to safety programs, and preventative vehicle maintenance.
The Top 10 Reasons Accidents Happen:
1. Failure of truck driver to adhere to or obey the rules of the road
2. Speeding or unsafe acceleration
3. Under-inflated tires on big rig trucks
4. Cargo shifting or improperly loaded commercial trucks
5. Truck driver fatigue (over-driving without proper rest breaks)
6. Truck driver substance abuse
7. Improper braking or deceleration
8. Poor truck maintenance or shoddy repair work
9. Vehicular blind spots
10. Careless or reckless driving
Training, safety, and maintenance guidelines must be part of an overall Safety Program that is strictly followed by you or your fleet management company. After all, accidents not only affect others on the road, but they also affect your business and incur significant costs.
Costs of accidents:
- Injured employees
- Inventory loss or damage
- Production delays resulting from just-in-time shipments that are involved in collisions
- Equipment damage
- Liability and insurance costs
- Lost customers and business
- Negative company image from press related to major incidents
To start, drivers need to know the laws and informal rules that have been developed over time to facilitate an orderly traffic flow, helping make the roads safer and preventing more accidents from happening.
Some of these rules include:
- Following the speed limit
- Learning who has the right of way
- Following the correct use of intersections
- Using turn signals
- Following traffic lights and signs
Are you focusing too much energy on fleet safety and accident prevention? Find out how you can improve the safety of your fleet so you can spend more time thinking about your core business. Download our free guide, ‘Do You Follow the Rules of The Road?’ and see how you can prevent accidents.
