Drowsy driving ranks among the worst offenders when it comes to poor driving habits that lead to crashes. The ability to recognize the signs of driver fatigue is key to creating a fleet safety culture that eliminates those habits and the risk of crash-related injuries.

College-owned vehicle driver safety is an issue universities and colleges across the country should take seriously. With a fleet of vehicles used by employees and students in an environment with many inexperienced drivers and distracted pedestrians, academic institutions that offer driver training can create a safer campus and reduce their liability risk for off campus driving.

The United States has a complex transportation system used by millions of commercial and private drivers every day. Addressing and mitigating the risks that fleet drivers face involves a strategy known as the safe system approach. It’s a holistic strategy that includes areas such as infrastructure, human behavior and emergency response.

Fleet managers face a challenge in trying to mitigate risk by providing high-quality, effective driver training. In addition to finding a service that provides updated and relevant training content, they also must find a way to schedule all their drivers while minimizing time off the road.

Reading, Seeing, Doing

As vehicles become more sophisticated with advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), drivers are falling further behind in understanding how these systems perform, or even worse, have ill-conceived notions of how these systems function. In hindsight it seems, the better the technology becomes; the worse drivers get. However, we can’t be that surprised knowing how little training most individuals have received on this topic. Safety researchers continue to issue warnings about the lack of training and because of this, repeatedly emphasize how ADAS will never live up to its full potential.

The Driving Dynamics “SEE the Advantage System™” takes information gathered from years of research about the causes of crashes and helps drivers develop habits to avoid them. This system includes both an effective, advanced defensive driving strategy and critical vehicle control skills for drivers of all vehicle types.

In this blog, we’ll focus on the advanced defensive driving strategy component called SEE. This is an easy to remember acronym encouraging drivers to regularly use the SEE three-step process to anticipate potential traffic hazards and respond in a safe manner. They are:

The foundational principles that Driving Dynamics build much of its training upon is contained in One Second Advantage. The core idea is that drivers can avoid most crashes and collisions if they have just one more second to see and react to potential hazards.

As fleets invest in making a transition to electric vehicles (EVs), they should include EV driver training as part of the transition. A failure to do so could have a negative impact on safety and energy consumption, while investing in training could help fleets and drivers better manage risk.

A new state law will have a significant impact on New Jersey vehicle tracking. Fleets operating in the state must now inform drivers when they install GPS tracking devices in vehicles. The new law takes effect April 18, 2022.

For managers, driver safety is always the primary concern. They are always on the lookout for training and techniques that can lower the chance of a crash or collision, making roads safer and drivers better at their jobs.

Vision Zero is a movement that started in Sweden in the 1990s. It calls for eliminating all traffic accidents and severe injuries, while also increasing safe, equitable and healthy mobility for all people. After taking hold in many European cities, it now is taking off in the United States.

Many companies associate driver training with news hires. While that certainly provides benefits, an area that fleet managers should not overlook is remedial fleet driver training for veteran and at-risk drivers.