How Much Can Investing in Fleet Safety Help Your Business?
When the telephones are ringing, when the deliveries are arriving on time and when truck drivers and staff are in good moods, you as a fleet manager can focus on larger issues – like making the right investment to grow your business.
While investment decisions aren’t always the easiest, sometimes the best place to spend your money is in the least obvious areas of your fleet.
Your employees and your drivers may not be aware of the costs your fleet incurs in the event of a crash. But you do. A significant crash – which might not even be your driver’s fault – can cost your fleet plenty, in both short- and long-term expenses. In the best case scenario of a serious crash, you may end up with all expenses covered and be reimbursed for legal or insurance fees. But in the interim – even in the rosy picture – times can be trying.
We at iGlobal LLC, will explore the financial ramifications of investing in fleet safety and the ways to protect your most valuable assets: your staff.
Traffic Crashes Cost Billions
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the cost of vehicle crashes tops $871 billion.
Fleet operators should consider carefully the overall picture – not just insurance costs – when reviewing their financial ledgers.
A devastating truck crash is not an isolated expense: The real cost – beyond truck and driver expenses – starts rising exponentially when damage to property, other vehicles, cargo, insurance premium hikes, medical bills and route delays are factored into the equation. Flying by the financial seat of your pants does not make for smooth sailing in the long run.
Calculating the real value of instituting fleet safety programs is a wise first step in maintaining productivity and profitability. Besides reducing the statistical probability of crashes, safety programs help boost the bottom line by preventing operational disruptions and promoting good morale in your workforce.
Investing in a safety program also helps mitigate the less visible or obvious aspects of how fleets function. Indirect costs – those involving lost production time and lowered morale, for example – typically are three times higher than direct costs.
In-cab Scanners Help Improve Fleet Safety
Our EDGE Mobile Data Terminals are not just sound investments to boost fleet profitability, but they also contribute significant technology aspects that will improve driver safety. The MDT screens are easy to use and enable to drivers to send and receive messages with an easy push of a screen icon: Nothing complicated or distracting about our MDTs. The screen alerts both drivers and dispatchers when messages have been sent and received. This eliminates any communication gaps or the possibility of driver disruptions. Touch messaging includes simple phrases such as 10-4, arrived at gate, ETA request and delayed. Managers can choose additional messages.
With audio messages, drivers don’t have to type anything into their MDTs and the units comply with cell phone bans. A CB microphone allows drivers to speak with dispatchers over an integrated cell phone.
iGlobal LLC is a technology company which specializes in providing solutions for transportation, logistics and distribution industries. We build hardware and develop software that resolves critical business dilemmas, especially those involving fleet management and communication technologies.
Go to our Products tab or call today for a demonstration! We will continue exploring issues relating to the issues and events and how they may shape the industry. Contact us on our social media channels.
