{"id":4571,"date":"2020-03-10T16:20:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T15:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=4571"},"modified":"2020-03-10T16:20:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T15:20:40","slug":"fleet-safety-starts-with-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/03\/10\/fleet-safety-starts-with-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Fleet Safety Starts with Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fleet Safety Starts with Drivers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Driver records have almost always been part of the hiring process; candidates signed off on the company\u2019s authority to acquire an MVR, which was reviewed as part of an overall background check.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

No matter how technologically advanced a vehicle might be, fleet safety begins with the driver. Beginning with the hiring process and ongoing throughout a driver\u2019s employment, fleet managers have been challenged not only to make certain drivers are safe, but to assess driver performance, and, ultimately, manage risk.<\/p>\n

Driver records have almost always been part of the hiring process; candidates signed off on the company\u2019s authority to acquire an MVR, which was reviewed as part of an overall background check.\u00a0Going forward, MVRs were reviewed on some regular schedule for all drivers (at least every six months, sometimes quarterly).\u00a0Any violations present were handled via fleet policy.<\/p>\n

The MVR process began with paper; reports were obtained from each state \u201cmanually.\u201d\u00a0The challenge here is that each state has its own format, fee, and point system.\u00a0Paper reports were ultimately replaced by digital versions; fleet management companies began to take these and create a \u201cuniversal\u201d format, their own, which helped fleet managers immensely in assessing driver risk.<\/p>\n

Is there some newer technology in the works?\u00a0Perhaps; technology has made the MVR review process much easier, but it isn\u2019t likely that the review of driver records, both in the hiring process as well as ongoing, will be replaced.<\/p>\n

Accessing and reviewing MVRs does reveal, to a limited extent, how drivers behave behind the wheel – to the extent that they\u2019ve been caught in a violation.\u00a0No speeding tickets on a driver record does not mean that your driver doesn\u2019t speed; only that he or she hasn\u2019t been caught speeding. A fleet manager might well see a clean record in the January MVR run, then in the next one, a DUI, speeding, or other serious violation.\u00a0In that interim, such drivers were most definitely a risk to themselves and others, and placed the company at serious liability and negligent entrustment risk.<\/p>\n

This is where the magic of telematics has revolutionized driver risk management.\u00a0Telematics hasn\u2019t replaced MVRs, (at least not yet) as a risk management tool, but it has dramatically improved overall driver risk assessment. On a real time basis, driver behavior is transmitted to the fleet manager, including critical risk items:<\/p>\n