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UN Global Road Safety Week

2 min to readDriver safety
This is the 6th annual UN Global Road Safety week. The theme this year is #Love30, encouraging lower speed limits (30 km/h = 20m/ph) in areas where people and traffic mix. Setting a lower speed limit in cities, towns and villages will not only make the streets more liveable but safer too. 
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Setting lower speed limits

It's important to look at driver safety from many angles. From what policymakers can do,£including setting lower speed limits to what drivers can do, such as respecting speed limits and putting phones on do not disturb before driving. When it comes to company car drivers it's especially important to look at driver safety. Research tell us that company car drivers have a crash and casualty rate that is around 50% higher than private motorists, with over 90% of all accidents being caused by driver error such as poor anticipation, inappropriate reaction to a hazard or violation of road traffic laws [i].

Not only do our clients see their drivers' health and safety as a top priority, but safer driving and fewer accidents can also help reduce costs related to insurance premiums, sick leave, damages and repairs.

The main challenges we see are related to reporting insights and driving the number of fleet accidents down

A first step in our process is assessing our clients' insurance fleet strategy and their specific challenges dealing with accidents and vehicle damages. So we start by capturing their data or looking at their claims and accident data on My Fleet reporting, and by performing a thorough root-cause analysis, while benchmarking our clients against their peers. Based on this, we are able to provide specific recommendations tailored to their situation.

Why is a fleet safety programme important for your business?

As an employer, you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees - and of others - in every work-related aspect. This means you must evaluate all the risks your employees may be exposed to and put in place preventive and protective measures. In many countries, vehicles are also classified as a 'workplace', so any company operating vehicles must view fleet safety as an essential consideration [ii].

What can you do to improve safety in your fleet?

Increasing safety starts by agreeing on your fleet safety strategy. To operate an effective strategy, a crucial element is reducing the number of accidents. This can be achieved by implementing an accident prevention programme. This should comprise measures including educating drivers about responsible and safety-conscious behaviour and making sure that the vehicles they drive are safe. The below figure shows the steps of such a prevention programme, that can assist to improve safety in your fleet.

Want to learn more about the top driving risks and how to avoid them? Check out our white paper on how an active fleet safety programme contributes to a healthy business.

SafePlan Zero: be a hero, aim for zero

LeasePlan aims to make its fleet the safest in the industry by working towards zero serious road traffic injuries by 2030. SafePlan Zero includes content, tools, guidelines and reports on the three major safety areas: the driver, the vehicle and fleet management. Join us in our journey to zero!

UN Global Road Safety Week

Visit the UN's road safety week website here for more information about the #Love30 campaign and what you can do to support it.

RESOURCES

[i] https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/road_it

[ii] https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/social-security-health/work-safety/index_en.htm

Published at 19 May 2021
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19 May 2021
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