A safety culture is based on establishing values, attitudes, skills, and behavioral standards that ensure the well-being of everyone involved, in this case, in traffic.
As it is something that involves the collective, the lives of the drivers and the smooth running of operations, it is the role of the fleet manager to work towards the development of an active safety culture in his organization.
However, we know that creating this defensive driving culture is not something that happens overnight. On the contrary, it is a process that involves several years of making safety an integral part of daily operations.
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But, to make this process easier and more agile, we have prepared this content to help you establish this safety culture in your light fleet management from now on. Take a look at everything you'll find here:
Importance of safety culture to preserve lives in traffic
Main risk behaviors in traffic and how to avoid them with defensive driving
How to promote a safety culture in fleet management
Importance of safety culture to preserve lives in traffic
As you have seen, a road safety culture is basically a series of values, behaviors, and attitudes that fleet management determines and its drivers adopt in order to ensure everyone's well-being and the smooth operation of the company.
This is done through training, meetings, determination of behavior standards, awareness campaigns and other practices that the fleet manager considers convenient.
It's more than just having good defensive driving practices. Having a road safety culture means making good driving behavior a priority in operations.
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With this, the manager can improve the overall performance of the fleet, optimize communication with drivers, train them and, consequently, reduce the rates of avoidable traffic accidents.
In addition, investing in a culture of safety in driving makes fleet management able to create a certain level of discipline in relation to behavior in traffic.
This, in addition to preserving lives, also contributes to fuel economy and reduces the need for car maintenance due to misuse.
Read more: How to beat inflation and guarantee a reduction in fleet fuel costs using Golfleet
Finally, of course, implementing a road safety culture is also important because it promotes a sense of commitment to the collective well-being.
In this context, all drivers will be responsible for preventing unsafe behaviors and intervening to correct them, even if it is the conduct of another driver.
For example, with a strong safety culture, any driver can feel free to alert others about possible unsafe behavior on the road that he may have observed.
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This is important because when everyone involved in fleet management, in one way or another, shares the same culture and does their part, safety becomes a priority and the entire operation becomes safer.
Main risk behaviors in traffic and how to avoid them with defensive driving
According to the National Road Safety Observatory, 90% of accidents occur due to human error , ranging from driver inattention to disregard for traffic laws.
Some of the main reasons for traffic accidents are speeding, cell phone use, not wearing a seat belt or helmet, drunkenness and fatigue.
That's why those who work directly in traffic are constantly putting their lives at risk, whether because of their own attitudes or the carelessness of others.
But luckily, most of these accidents are preventable. With the establishment of a safety culture, drivers will put aside attitudes that are responsible for taking thousands of lives daily.
See a little more about each of the main factors and how to avoid them:
Speeding
Driving above the speed limit is identified by the World Health Organization as one of the leading causes of accidents worldwide.
If you leave your house for work every day, it's impossible not to have noticed that speeding is a common problem on most Brazilian public roads.
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Death in traffic due to speeding is a real problem of great proportion that needs to be faced by all Brazilians, including fleet managers.
One way to avoid this problem is to frequently alert drivers. Always remember the importance of maintaining a safe speed for each lane.
In addition, you can also invest in a driver tracking system , which monitors speed and generates reports for the fleet manager.
Read more: All about video telemetry: what it is, its benefits, and how it works in your fleet management.
Cell phone use on the road
Cell phone use in traffic is part of what we call distracted driving — that is, any activity that takes your attention away from driving.
Text messages and phone calls are some of the most alarming distractions. It is not possible to drive safely unless that task has the driver's full attention.
Furthermore, according to data released by the Brazilian Association of Traffic Medicine (Abramet) , the use of cell phones while driving is responsible for approximately 57% of traffic accidents in the 20-39 age group.
That is why it is very important to always publicize in your company the importance of keeping your focus on driving and not answering calls while driving, not even those from the fleet manager. It is important to always park the car when necessary.
Seat belt
The use of seat belts, despite seeming to be a topic that has already been extensively explored, is still responsible for many tragedies in Brazil.
To give you an idea, the São Paulo State Traffic Department (Detran SP) issued approximately 40.000 fines to drivers who were not wearing seatbelts between January and March 2022. In other words, it's an issue that, unfortunately, still needs to be discussed.
A fleet management system with verbal coaching functionality offers drivers safety and awareness tips for safer driving and traffic, including information on seatbelt use.
fatigue at the wheel
If the driver is drowsy or fatigued, traffic becomes even more dangerous . After all, they may have slower reflexes, more difficulty processing their actions, and paying attention to what is happening.
That is why drowsy driving is a major problem that generates traffic accidents on a daily basis in Brazil, especially in work situations. In this sense, it is the responsibility of the fleet manager to work towards greater awareness and prevention of these situations.
By establishing the habits present in your company's road safety culture, you can determine that drivers take a break during work to rest, have a coffee and reduce fatigue, especially for those who work overnight.
Want to learn more ways to promote a culture of safety? Continue reading:
How to promote a safety culture in fleet management
Creating a safety culture at the wheel is an effort by the entire team involved in the fleet. Here are some ways to leverage these defensive driving habits in your company:
Set clear expectations of what is expected of drivers
Like most teamwork, a road safety culture also begins with good communication. The first step is to determine the fleet policy , which should include all road safety expectations and procedures.
This document must be clear and available at the company and to all fleet drivers.
You can also ask all drivers to sign a contract that they are aware of all management expectations regarding possible violations of fleet policy, as well as road safety habits.
Talk about safety often
Traffic safety cannot be a distant topic, the fleet manager simply sets rules and expects drivers to comply with them. Fleet leadership should participate in meetings where safety is discussed and encourage drivers to bring up defensive driving issues.
In fact, a true safety culture will only be established if, every day, there is consistency between what is done and what is preached in fleet management. Don't forget that, as a manager, you are the first example for your drivers.
Work with data to align expectations
If you truly want to see long-term behavioral changes, you'll need to find ways to collect data on driver behavior and incorporate analytics and reporting into your fleet management.
This data on driver behavior helps set goals and keep drivers more accountable and aware.
The best way to do this is with a video telemetry system like Golfleet . This is because it's a highly effective tool that allows you to understand the behavior of each driver, generating complete and intuitive reports.
Video telemetry allows for the collection of a multitude of safety-related metrics, such as speeding and hard braking . Therefore, whenever safety issues are identified, they can be used as opportunities to provide training to your drivers.
Read also: Step-by-step guide to using KPIs in light fleet management and how to use indicators to verify ROI.
As you've seen, there are many ways to build a road safety culture into your fleet management. Through policies, well-aligned communication and training, you can collaborate to preserve the lives of your drivers every day.
Furthermore, by creating a culture of safety, you will also be able to improve employee retention and protect the smooth running of fleet operations.
Want to know more about how a video telemetry system can help you? Check it out now:
