Around the globe, roads and highways can be a dangerous place, and the UAE is no exception. There were 675 deaths on the road in 2015, and this figure increased in 2016 to 725.
Recognising a need to improve safety standards on its roads, the UAE government has chosen to promote road safety and is committed to the reduction of traffic accidents and deaths, drawing inspiration from a decade-long global plan developed by the UN Road Safety Collaboration of World Health Organization.
There has been a movement towards the implementation of new legislation in recent months, affecting both businesses and the general public alike, which encourages those in the transport and logistics sector to take a more proactive role in encouraging “good” driver behaviours such as wearing a seatbelt, through to vehicle maintenance, with the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) revealing that they plan to enforce the compulsory installation of digital tyre monitoring technology by as early as Q4 2017.
The aim is to keep our roads safe for all users; current statistics highlight that there are 5.5 deaths on the roads per 100,000 people, and the aim is to reduce that to three per 100,000 by 2021 – (UN formula).
Commercial fleets will need to adapt to improve the safety of their own fleets, and the best way to do this is to implement a combination of telematics technology, internal processes and training, to create a full safe journey management solution.
Below I outline 4 key areas for consideration on your journey to achieving a safe fleet:
Cultivate a Safety-First Culture
Sometimes drivers are hesitant to use processes that improve safety because they either don’t understand how to use them or fear it’s weapon to punish them for a misstep. By taking them on your safety journey with support and education, it’s easier to get everyone working towards the right outcomes.
Roster with Care
Your deadlines are tighter than your budgets, but there are some corners you simply can’t afford to cut. Making sure your targets are realistic or you take fatigue management rules into account before assigning the next job stops is important. Especially in the transport industry which relies heavily on contractors who may not speak out through fear of being viewed difficult to work with.
Act Sooner, Not Later
Addressing problematic behaviour early is obviously hugely beneficial, but how do you get the insight you need? Technology is increasingly providing opportunities for fleet managers to understand their drivers’ habits better. One recent test in Singapore explored using Artificial Intelligence with telematics data to flag the bus drivers most likely to have an accident. Thinking more in the here and now, GPS fleet management systems allows you to look at things such as speeding and harsh braking in real time instead of waiting for an accident to happen.
Make Doing the Right Thing Easy
There’s something fundamentally painful about paperwork. It’s the repetitiveness of entering the same information time and again, combined with needing to pull information from the furthest recesses of your mind (or even calculate it yourself). Paper work diaries are no exception. Using an Electronic Work Diary (EWD) removes some of the drudgery of collecting and calculating. Work and rest periods are calculated and recoded automatically once the driver hits the start of the job on the in-cabin device. It also means you can cut out human error or other inaccuracies due to less honorable motives.
If you’d like to learn more about Safe Journey Management, download our recent white paper: