In Part
1 and Part
2 of this series, we covered the driver selection, education and company's
expectation components of a fleet safety program. In this final installment, we'll look at the supervisor's obligations, disciplinary action and use of personal
vehicles.

Supervisor Obligations

Supervisors play an essential role in carrying out a fleet safety program.
For a program to work, supervisors must

• Ensure that employees are familiar with and adhere to all aspects
  of the fleet safety program
• Maintain a list of all current drivers and their drivers' license numbers
• Conduct an annual review of all drivers' records
• Familiarize employees with new vehicles and ensure that they are aware
  of and understand any unique features of the vehicles
• Investigate accidents involving department vehicles
• Ensure that employees attend all required driver education programs,
  including refreshers.

Disciplinary and Other Policies

You must have a disciplinary policy to take action against employees who commit
violations of the fleet safety program. Where applicable, other policies may
have bearing on the situation. These may include policies on:

• Drug and alcohol use
• Motor vehicle accidents, or
• Unacceptable driving records.

You may also want to consider including a provision in your disciplinary policy
that requires employees who commit violations to attend a course designed to
improve individual driving skills. Of course, this should be used only for violations
and employees that don't warrant immediate termination.

Policies Regarding Personal Vehicles

A policy should also address employee use of personal vehicles. Generally,
employees should not use their personal vehicles to do company business if there
is a motor vehicle available in operating condition that isn't being used. But
occasionally, employees may have to use their personal vehicles to perform their
duties. To reduce the potential for accidents, injuries and liability, employees
should follow the same practices as outlined for the operation of company-owned
vehicles. In addition, your program should outline these particulars:

Insurance Employees who expect to drive their personal
vehicles for company business must show that they have automobile insurance
in force. They should maintain at least the state-mandated minimum liability
coverage, but should be urged to carry a higher liability level along with collision
and comprehensive coverage.

Accidents In the event of an accident involving an
employee's personal vehicle, the employee should

• Follow their insurance carrier's procedures for reporting the accident
  and obtaining information
• File an Incident Report with the supervisor, and
• If injured, file an Employee Injury Report according to the company's
  policy.

Mileage claims Your plan should address whether employees
are to claim mileage from their federal income taxes or to be reimbursed by
the employer at the prevailing IRS rate. Thus deductibles and claims for vehicle
damage that are not covered by the employee's insurance policy are the responsibility
of the employee. The thought here is that the mileage deduction/allowance is
intended to cover most if not all expenses involved in the operation of an automobile.
Any exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be careful
not to set a precedent.

Conclusion

Employees who operate a motor vehicle for your company should be seen not only
as a driver but also as a company representative. Therefore, employees must
make a conscious effort to drive courteously, maintain alertness and obey all
traffic laws and rules of the road. Making sure they do will help your drivers
stay safe and enhance the image of your organization.

MEMBER REPLY

If Only Everyone Would Heed Mr. Bruce's Advice

Regarding Part 2 of the Transportation Safety bulletin (in last week's issue
of the SafetyXChange newsletter), having had oodles of experience in both civilian
and military fleet operations, I liked what I read. The only thing I would wish
for overall is that your typical Johnny Q Public would follow a similar ethic
concerning his/her vehicle. Simple things like the use of signals would be great.
This is something that I gently remind my friends if I see them not using proper
signals, etc.

R.G. Hills
Master Corporal
Canadian Defence Liaison Staff
Washington Fin Mgmt Svcs

SAFETY TIP OF THE WEEK
Positioning of Smoke Detectors

All good safety people know the value of smoke detectors. But we don't always
put them in the right places. I urge you to place a smoke detector above the
electric panel at home. This way, if an electrical fire was to start at the
panel box or a circuit breaker would overheat, you'll have an early warning
and more time to react.

Jeff Rankin
Safety Chairman
Atlas Cold Storage
Mountville, PA

Got a safety tip you'd like to share? Send them to catherinej@bongarde.com.
Let us know if we can include your name with the tip.

SUPER BOWL SAFETY
Cheerleaders & Accidents

Super Bowl's Vince Lombardi Trophy

We all know that football is a dangerous game. But cheering can also get you
hurt, especially if you do it from the sidelines. While watching the sideline
entertainment at this year's Super Bowl, consider these statistics*:

• 16,100 cheerleaders (average) between the ages of 5 to 18 are treated in
  US hospital emergency departments every year
• 52.4% of those injuries were strains or sprains
• 18.4% were soft tissue injuries
• 16.4% were fractures/dislocations
• 3.8% were lacerations/avulsions
• 3.5% were concussions/closed head injuries
• 5.5% were other

The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors would like to
reduce these statistics and raise some of their own. Since 2000, the AACCA has
provided safety training to more than 10,000 coaches.**

Sources:
*Pediatrics, The Official Journal
of the American Academy of Pediatrics
** American Association of Cheerleading Coaches
and Advisors

Story Tools:  Email This Post  Print This Post Top