If you hire “experienced” drivers, why is it necessary to train them? Is there any reason to train drivers who have been employed by your organization for several years? Isn’t training costly? What do you really gain when you provide training to experienced drivers? What type of training is available? How often should drivers receive training? These are all questions that every management team needs to ask itself. Successful fleets have addressed these questions and have developed programs that respond to most, if not all, of them.
There is no question about the cost of training. Training does cost money – but “no training” costs money also, probably several times more.
“No training” results in collisions – which translates to higher insurance premiums, lost deductible dollars, operational disruptions, personal injury and the associated costs, customer dissatisfaction and loss of “peace of mind.” Periodic training is beneficial for “old timers” and “experienced” drivers as it increases their level of awareness. It’s surprising how complacent we all become concerning the task of driving. Periodically it really helps to focus one’s attention on the various hazards associated with a job so that we are not caught with our “brain out of gear.” Driving is a task that many of us perform using little more than our subconscious mind – we sort of put our brain on auto-pilot. This works, until several adverse conditions come together simultaneously – and then there is trouble because we aren’t “expecting the unexpected.”
Monthly driver meetings are one way of showing your driving employees that management really is interested in a collision-free operation. These meetings need to deal with a single topic, so that everyone’s focus is concentrated on eliminating that one potential problem. Since it is known that repetition is a useful teaching technique, consider supplementing your driver meetings by providing your drivers with written materials that reinforces the meeting’s presentation.
These topics should include:
- Backing Collisions
- Drowsy Driving
- Intersection Collisions
- Preventability
- Rear End Collisions
- Speed Related Collisions
- Winter Driving
Periodic training reinforces to your drivers the knowledge to do the job correctly, the skill to do it properly, an appreciation for the driving position’s importance, and most importantly the understanding to be a defensive driver and to do the job safely.