Author: Casey Nighbor

As someone who employs or uses drivers, your top priority should be the health and safety of your drivers. One way to ensure you are keeping safety top of mind is by tracking safety metrics.

This can help keep you updated on any issues that arise as well as helping to show patterns in your safety records. If a negative pattern emerges, then you can easily adapt your safety program accordingly.

Here are a few trucking industry safety metrics to consider tracking.

Vehicle crash rate

Vehicle crash rate is a pretty standard, all-around safety metric that every operation should be tracking. This metric can show you how frequently your drivers are in crashes and show you quickly if you have a big safety program among your drivers.

You can calculate this by multiplying the number of crashes over the past 12 months by 1,000,000 then dividing by the total vehicle miles traveled over the same period.

It may also be helpful to track the types of crashes occurring and other details about the crashes to build a fuller picture.  

Crash severity

In addition to gathering your vehicle crash rate, you should also be tracking the severity of the crashes. You can do this by totaling the cost of a vehicle crash and from that, calculating the average cost per crash.

Keep in mind that crashes often include more indirect costs outside of property damage or injury expenses. Also think of potential operations disruptions, admin costs, morale, productivity and more when calculating the true cost.

Rate of pre-trip inspection completions

Pre-trip inspections are one of the most important tools to prevent accidents on the road as well as eliminate downtime and violations. But unfortunately, they are also something that many drivers skip.

By tracking inspection completion rates, you can hold your drivers accountable for completing this critical safety step. You can also match up data to show the impact of pre-trip inspections on your other safety metrics.

Not sure where to start with your pre-trip inspection? Centerline’s Safety Manager, Jim Ledbetter outlines 5 key components that you should never overlook during a pre-trip inspection in this on-demand webinar.

ELD data

If you are taking advantage of installing all the possible tools your onboard platform provider has to offer, you can get a good picture of safety metrics and other critical data. An electronic logging device (ELD) can track fuel, over idling, speeding, harsh breaking events, over acceleration and other valuable pieces of data. These metrics can help you not only identify unsafe and aggressive driving, but can also show which drivers are abusing equipment. If you have drivers constantly pushing you equipment past it’s limit, you are risking frequent breakdowns and hazard risks.

NRO/PRO rate

Do you solicit feedback from the public, internal team members or industry partners about your drivers? If you have a “how’s my driving” sticker on any of your trucks, you should be tracking the rate of negative road observations (NRO) and positive road observations (PRO).

Everything submitted should be documented and tracked, even if you are giving the benefit of the doubt to the driver.

This can help determine whether patterns are emerging about certain drivers, both positive and negative. But documentation can help you take action either way, especially if there are other metrics that corroborate any feedback.

It can help you recognize safe and professional drivers for their outstanding work, boosting morale and investment in your safety program.

If you don’t solicit feedback from the public, onboard cameras might be a suitable alternative. Adding them can help you coach and recognize drivers for both safe and unsafe behaviors.

Need help creating a better safety program? We can help. Centerline Drivers has a dedicated in-house safety team to ensure every driver is safe on the road. Learn how our safety program is different.

You know the importance of safety, but how can you motivate your drivers to get on board?

You’ve dedicated numerous resources towards building comprehensive safety programs, used best practices to train drivers and recruited candidates you felt would make safety a priority on the road.

But after all of this preparation, are you still seeing a disconnect between the goals of your safety program and the attitudes and behaviors of your drivers?

If so, you may need to reevaluate how you’re motivating them to be committed to safety while driving.

We’ve gathered five best practices to help you get started.

1. Make safety an important part of your organization’s culture

From the minute drivers walk through your doors for their interview, they should know that safety is one of your organization’s central values. This can be done by including safety reminders and training in all steps of the hiring and onboarding processes as well as following through with them during every workday.

One easy way to do this is by ensuring that every driver completes a pre-trip inspection of their vehicle. These can help mitigate violations as well as accidents on the road. They also serve as a good reminder for regular safety protocols and keeps safety top of mind for everyone as your organization.

Not sure where to start with a pre-trip inspection? Download our free checklist.

2. Leadership teams should be champions of safety

Successful driver engagement in safety programs (and all programs, really) depends largely on the motivation and support of leadership teams. All members of the leadership team should strive to set positive examples and abide by the same safety policies expected of their employees.

Along with this, leadership should provide consistent feedback and communication in what is commonly referred to as behavior-based safety. Behavior-based safety can include leadership taking the time to observe drivers and provide feedback, encouraging them to stay safe and ensuring they are informed about all required safety procedures.

At Centerline, we have a dedicated in-house safety and compliance team to ensure every Centerline driver is always in full DOT compliance. These leaders help set the pace for our safety-first culture.

3. Use positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is defined by behavioral scientists as “any consequence that causes a behavior to repeat or increase in frequency.”

Positive reinforcement and safety programs should go hand in hand. Employee satisfaction research has shown this can be done by reminding your drivers that they are truly making a difference and thanking them often.

That being said, leaders should not ignore safety mishaps, no matter how minor they may be. 

In order to create a positive outcome, it’s important to address safety concerns combined with a learning-supportive environment. Teaching drivers how to avoid unsafe situations in the future can increase overall safety and employee participation.

One option to help create a positive safety culture is to create a driver safety incentive program. These can help recognize and promote safe drivers within your organization as well as motivate other drivers to follow suit.

4. Your drivers should feel ownership in the safety process

Drivers will be more committed and motivated if they play an active role in safety programs. As mentioned earlier, this can be done by reminding them that their diligence towards safety has a direct impact on their safety and the safety of others on the road.

Additionally, drivers should have multiple outlets available to provide feedback on their organization’s safety program.

5. Utilize driver feedback to reassess your safety program

Any time your organization encourages driver feedback, you should be committed to using that feedback to make reasonable and necessary changes.

When a good idea or observation is submitted, take action in a timely fashion and make it known that you appreciate the participation with positive reinforcement.

Additionally, if the majority of your drivers are upset with a specific aspect of your safety program, leadership teams should discuss how it can be altered and improved.

When your employees believe that your organization genuinely listens to their concerns, they will be more motivated and less resistant to complying with your safety program.

The bottom line

In order for your safety program to work, your drivers need to be motivated and committed. By making safety a priority from the beginning of the hiring process, using positive reinforcement to thank and educate, and by listening to and taking action with employee feedback, you will be on track towards safer and more compliant drivers.

Want to learn about a comprehensive driver safety program? Download our free ultimate guide to safety here.