But don’t hyperventilate yet; there are smart solutions and software that can help you optimise your fleet operations and increase your fleet safety.
Ready to start dramatically decreasing truck accidents in your business?
Let’s dive straight in.
In this article, you will:
Learn more about the causes of truck accidents
Determine if and how fleet accidents can be prevented
Wise-up on top tips to avoid and minimise truck accidents
Understand the importance of driver wellness
Get insights on driver safety that help reduce the risk of trucking accidents
Discover how Cartrack can help you dramatically reduce truck accidents
Why it’s essential to protect your fleet from truck accidents
Automotive road accidents have disastrous consequences with potential injuries and even fatalities.
However, there are other influential factors from a fleet management perspective. The fewer truck accidents, the more improved and consistent your fleet’s performance and confidence will be. You’ll also see a notable reduction in maintenance costs as fewer vehicles need to be repaired or replaced and a visible increase in ROI.
The top trending causes of commercial vehicle accidents
Speed: According to the United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speed contributes to a concerning one out of three fatal truck accidents in the US. While this may be related to the systematically rising speed limits in several states, speeding in South Africa is a big concern even without speed limit increases.
Distracted driving: Another trending cause of commercial vehicle accidents is distracted driving, and the statistics in South Africa are concerning. According to the International Transport Forum's Road Safety Annual Report, South Africa has one of thehighest road accident rates in the world, and around 25% of those crashes are caused by using mobile phones while driving — a classic example of distracted driving.
Driver fatigue: Traveling hundreds of kilometres doing a monotonous task like long-distance driving takes its toll on the body and mind and can cause serious deterioration in the required alertness and concentration. According to Arrive Alive, 41% of road accidents are fatigue-related, while 39% of problems truck drivers experience are fatigue-related.
Discover the most pressing FAQs about truck accidents
1. How do truckers protect themselves?
Prevention is most definitely better than cure, and in long-distance truck driving, it’s the best way to avoid potentially devastating accidents that may cost truckers and other motorists their lives.
There’s also the issue in South Africa of trucks being prime targets for commercial vehicle hijackings precisely because of the commodities they’re transporting. In these cases, the following precautions can help keep truckers, vehicles and cargo safe on the road:
Cartrack’s fleet management solutions provide a range of options to help increase driver safety and simplify the tracking of driver behaviour and risky driving with automated fleet admin.
3. How do I protect myself from other drivers?
If there’s one thing professional truck and other fleet drivers are well aware of, it’s that you can never presume the behaviour of another driver while on the road. So, it’s crucial to practise defensive driving techniques like:
Anticipating and predicting the behaviour of other motorists, whether they’re pedestrians, drivers, or cyclists.
Obeying traffic rules with no exceptions
Practising caution
Maintaining a safe following distance. Training your drivers to have a defensive driving mindset is crucial to setting a gold standard for safety and reducing the risk of accidents and injury on the road
Lower the risk of accident with these 4 top tips
Monitor and reward safe driving
Using a reward system or positive reinforcement strategy is a viable way to improve road behaviour and compliance linked to driver safety and reduced accident risk. Driver reward system efficiency is well-researched, and by getting to know your drivers’ behaviour more intimately with a driver monitoring system, you can create a solid base for relevant assessments that offer rewards your fleet drivers will value, fostering motivation and team workplace compliance.
A fleet management performance tracking systemuses telemetry data to track different components of a fleet’s performance, including trip reports, risky driver behaviour like excessive braking and speeding, and whether drivers stick to their allocated route to help fleet managers effectively pinpoint areas of concern for effective training and improved driver safety.
With smart cameras, live stream technology, and face recognition, you’ll always know who’s in your driver’s seat. So, if there are incidents on the road with our drivers, you’ll have the video footage to help you settle any disputes and insurance claims.
If you don’t want your fleet vehicle to move, technology allows you to disable it remotely, significantly contributing to roadside safety for your fleet and other motorists. Controlling fleet vehicle movement can prevent accidents caused by driving under the influence, unauthorised vehicle usage, fatigued driving, and increased road safety.
Fleet management technology that allows streamlined reporting on driver behaviour is also a key contributor to tailor-made driver training by allowing fleet managers to pinpoint exactly where drivers are going wrong and focus on their improvement.
Encourage regular rest and breaks
Driving, especially long-distance driving, requires quick-wittedness and a healthy mindset. Studies have found that poor sleep quality negatively impactstruck drivers’ job performance, with a high percentage of drivers reporting sleepiness during the day. Software created to accurately monitor drivers’ working hours plays a vital role in making sure drivers are not overworked and minimising potential truck accidents caused by fatigue.
Getting a good night’s sleep and stopping regularly to freshen up on long routes makes the world’s difference in your truck drivers’ mental capabilities and drastically reduces the risk of having a truck accident.
By ensuring fleet vehicles are in peak working condition, you’re taking an essential precaution to protect your fleet and other drivers on the road against preventable accidents. A fleet should operate like a well-oiled machine, and it all starts with the health of your vehicles’ gearboxes, brakes, tyres, and lights.
Conduct regular driver training
With the right fleet management technology, you can monitor drivers closely and create a custom-made training programme vital to address your fleet’s flagged behaviours. Overall, it’s important to instil a defensive driving mindset, which creates a solid platform for responsible driving habits. Consider the following defensive driving tips:
Always be prepared for an emergency
Watch out for those blind spots
Keep enough following space
Communicate with other drivers
Make slowing down the default
How Cartrack’s advanced software can help keep your drivers safe
With Cartrack, we design our products with your fleet’s safety in mind. By implementing advanced telematics-based fleet management and camera-based technology, you can help prevent truck accidents and optimise your business’s safety with the following state-of-the-art tech:
LiveVision cameras for increased driver safety
Have 24/7, real-time access to driver activity in fleet vehicles with a flexible, user-friendly vehicle video system. This live-streaming system allows the improvement of driver safety, reduces driver liability by pinpointing and addressing unproductive behaviour, assists with insurance claims, and ultimately keeps drivers safe and compliant.
AI camera technology to address distracted driver behaviour
Ensure increased driver awareness and concentration with advanced in-cabin AI technology that detects distracted driving behaviour. By sending audible, real-time alerts to drivers for behaviours like yawning, smoking, phone use and more, so your drivers can rectify mistakes in real time to prevent accidents and boost overall fleet safety.
Driver behaviour reports for effective, personalised driver training
Identify risky driver behaviour like speeding, harsh braking, cornering and more, and use these detailed driver behaviour reports to train drivers on where improvements need to be made, allowing you to instil a safer driving culture and boost fleet safety in your business.
Driver ID tags so you’re sure the right person is behind the wheel
Being able to choose who can and cannot start your fleet vehicles helps put you in control of your fleet’s safety. You can stop unauthorised vehicle usage by giving each driver a unique driver tag, which they need to tap against a sensor to start their fleet vehicle, helping you increase driver safety and reduce the risk of accidents.
Discover how Cartrack empowers Diraro Group to minimise truck accidents
At Cartrack, we aim to take the guesswork out of long-distance commercial trip safety and help you reduce fleet incident rates.
Here’s how we helped Diraro Group reduce fleet accident risks and increase driver security:
Get Cartrack and boost truck driver safety in your business
Contact us today to discover how Cartrack puts you in control of your fleet’s safety.
Prevent costly truck accidents with advanced fleet management tech. Save money and safeguard your business from tragic disasters.
