Reduce Your Business Liability with These 6 Employee Driving Safety Rules

As a business owner, you have a lot of responsibilities both in and out of the office. If you have sales personnel, drivers or employees who use a company car for business purposes, you know how important safe driving can be. It can cut down on insurance expenses and reduce the money you would have to pay out in the event of an accident or injury. The following are 6 safe driving rules for your employees to follow.

Take Note of Your Blind Spots

It’s common for a small company to make a variety of mistakes the first year or so in business. But there are extra precautions you can take to reduce your liability and make your business more profitable. Whether you haul product in your vehicle, run errands or travel from customer to customer, driving safely is important. To ensure that you make it to your destination and back without incident, you want to become aware of other motorists. If you’re switching lanes, turning or backing up, watch your blind spots. These are areas where you may need to use your vehicle mirrors or to turn your body and head for additional assistance to ensure that the roadway is clear to proceed.

Obey Speed Limits in Work Zones

Auto accidents across the nation are staggering, with close to six million accidents occurring yearly. Car accident lawyers recover damages for victims and their family members. But taking the necessary precautions can help reduce that high number drastically. Work zone speed limits are reduced for a reason. Because construction workers are moving about freely to perform road related duties, they are at a higher risk for injuries and death. If your employees are navigating the road for business purposes, they should obey speed limits in the construction work zones.

Maintain your Company Vehicle

Although you may have been given the company car to use while on the job, it’s your responsibility to have it maintained properly. This includes monitoring fluid levels, brakes and regular oil changes. During the winter and summer months, you may need additional maintenance performed on the car in the way of anti-freeze, washer fluid and tire pressure checks.

Load Your Car Wisely

If you have to haul product on a regular basis, you want to load your vehicle wisely. You can begin my placing the cargo throughout your car carefully, making sure not to block your view. This includes side, front and rear windows. If you store items in your trunk, make sure it can close properly and won’t pop open when on a busy highway or freeway.

Watch Your Speed on Turns and Curves

Speed limits are in place for a purpose such as keeping drivers and passengers safe. They are especially important when you’re turning or following a curve in the road. Going too fast for road conditions can make you lose control of the vehicle and cross into oncoming traffic.

Allow Extra Time During Bad Weather

Snow, rain, sleet, hail and ice can make the roadway even trickier than it already is. If you have a lot of road to cross throughout the day, you want to allow additional time to get to your destination. Your customers and owner of the company are sure to appreciate you arriving safely instead of driving recklessly to your work related appointments. If the weather is too dicey, it’s best to pull over until conditions on the road improve.

It takes a lot of hard work and diligence to get a small business off the ground. But once it starts showing signs of a profit, you don’t want to use the additional money to fight off employee car related lawsuits. Using the above vehicle safety tips, your employees will be able to make the proper contacts and get to their destination safely.