The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration publishes a series of safe driving tips for commercial vehicle drivers. Here’s a few of their top tips, and why they are important:
1.) Outside Distractions – A study showed that 80% of crashes involved some sort of outside the cab distraction in the three seconds before a crash or near crash. Don’t let things outside the vehicle distract you.
2.) Don’t Text and Drive – Texting while driving increases your risk of an accident 23 times!
3.) Don’t Use a Dispatch Device While Driving – Using a dispatch device increases your risk of accidents by 9 times.
4.) Don’t Dial the Phone – Dialing a handheld phone increases your risks 3 times and drivers who use handheld phones tend to make more frequent and larger steering corrections. Phones with voice activated dialing are much safer.
5.) No Maps – Map reading increases your risk of a critical safety event seven times over. A voice activated GPS device is a much safer choice.
6.) Avoid Food and Drinks – Studies have shown that eating while driving is even more risky than texting.
Driver safety training is a vital part of a risk management program for a transportation operation. For more risk management ideas, contact us and talk to one of our transportation insurance specialists.
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