Help your drivers stay safe this summer

Take a proactive approach to safety within your company, but also recognize that once your drivers are out on the road, it’s up to them to put these lessons into action. Work with your drivers to prepare them for what they’re likely to encounter on the roads this summer, and share the following strategies:

• Plan ahead. Whenever you can, schedule your departure and arrival times to avoid places and times prone to congestion. Just as you’d avoid making a delivery on restaurant row near noon, stay away from routes that connect to vacation hotspots on Friday afternoons. Familiarize yourself with data-driven websites and apps that can help you avoid construction zones. These resources have become almost as common as online sources of weather information—which, by the way, you should also check regularly.
  
  While we encourage you to take advantage of technology that can make your job safer and easier, we also want to stress the importance of never using these resources behind the wheel. Use your recovery breaks to check your phone. When you’re driving, stay completely focused on the task at hand.

• Drive carefully. Expect other drivers to get impatient when traffic is bad. They may follow too closely or linger in blind spots. When following drivers with out-of-state plates, be on the lookout for signs of hesitation, sudden swerves, or quick braking at exits—particularly in states where roads and ramps are configured differently than in other parts of the country. When passing a car or truck towing a trailer, take care not to cause sway in your wake or alarm an already apprehensive driver who’s riding their brakes. Back off when following, and be careful when passing.

• Maintain your truck. Summer heat causes more blowouts, so watch your tire pressure. Idling engines get hot, so monitor your coolant levels. Pay special attention to these and other pre-trip inspection checklist items so you can weather disruptions more easily—and so you don’t become the reason everyone else has to slow down.

• Take care of yourself as well. Heat isn’t only hard on engines. It can also cause you to become dehydrated or fatigued faster than when temperatures are more comfortable. Maintain your cabin air conditioning systems, and plan rest times before and after challenging stretches of road. A short recovery break is a good investment compared to the cost of an accident. Finally, remember to watch your hours driven, and get plenty of rest during off-duty time to maintain optimum performance.

• Avoid distractions. Sometimes it seems like every other driver on the road is distracted, talking or texting on their phone. As a trucker, your natural position of height above other drivers makes spotting others using mobile devices easier. Our advice is simple: watch out for them—and never become a distracted driver yourself.

We all get it. Summer traffic can be frustrating, and congestion and delays can cost you time and money. But we all also recognize the important role you play in making the highways safer during the busy summer months. By managing the challenges of summer driving proactively, you and your drivers can help limit the impact of both nuisances and outright hazards.

Get in touch with our Safety Services team to establish your own summer driving safety program. Our transportation insurance professionals know how to help fleets avoid problems, and can help protect you and your drivers with appropriate business insurance when problems do happen.