Behavior - Based Fleet Safety And Risk Management With Robert Donahue

Public Risk Management

Behavior-based safety focuses on the root cause of an issue rather than the act itself. For example, emphasis may be placed on following distance while driving when examining an accident. Was the driver hitting the brakes because they are inattentive, not leaving themselves enough space or putting themselves in a dangerous space? Understanding the root causes of an issue helps reduce ‘close calls’ rather than increase the likelihood of an actual accident. Behavior-based fleet safety also utilizes metrics to learn the patterns exhibited by risky drivers. This process begets a system that permits your entity to better evaluate how to lower overall risks by understanding the behaviors of your employees. Looking into an individuals’ behaviors and/or bad habits that have been developed overtime grants entities the opportunity to lower risks by acknowledging those habits and removing the behavior rather than removing the individual/employee themselves. Another aspect which entities should consider when implementing behavior-based safety is by pinpointing where their time and money spent would have a better impact with technology or training. A simple way your entity can start implementing behavior-based fleet safety may be upgrading your vehicles with video technology. However, that video technology may only show you that your policies are not being implemented with a spotter exiting the vehicle as the driver backs up to help assist with blind spots and lower the risk of hitting an object and/or the driver simply isn’t using the mirrors in the vehicle properly.