Fleet management quick resource guide

Fleet-related risk continues to escalate, driven by high accident rates and increased litigation. For many organizations, the vehicles they operate pose their greatest liability risk and vehicle accidents are the number one cause of on-the-job employee fatalities in the U.S.¹ Creating an effective fleet safety culture starts with strong management commitment, formal policies and programs, and a designated individual to oversee implementation and accountability of the program.

Key resources to support your fleet safety program include:

• Fleet risk environment
• Fleet safety: Setting the right direction
• Designating a fleet safety manager and establishing a fleet safety committee
• Sample fleet safety and driver safety manual
• Sample driver safety rules for small fleets – slimmed down version of the above driver manual
• Fleet safety self-assessment

When employees or volunteers use personal vehicles for business purposes, organizations assume a level of risk. To help mitigate this risk, organizations should have non-owned vehicle controls in place to ensure these vehicles are adequately insured and that the drivers are selected and managed similarly to drivers of company-owned vehicles. 

Driver hiring

Driver qualifications should align with the demands of the role. A minimum of two years of recent driving experience, operating a vehicle similar to the one that they will be operating for your organization, should be required. Three to five years of experience should be required for drivers who transport passengers or drive larger vans and trucks. 

Motor vehicle records (MVR) criteria should be in place with MVRs pulled at hire and at least annually thereafter. The use of a continuous MVR monitoring service, which notifies you when a driver loses their license or receives a new violation, is recommended.

Organizations should perform a road evaluation (test) on all new drivers to ensure they can operate a vehicle safely and do not drive in an aggressive, unsafe manner. Road evaluations send a strong message to new drivers that driving safely is expected. 

Driver orientation

Orientation is a critical opportunity to establish expectations. A manager should review safe driving expectations with each driver with special emphasis on speeding, following distance, distracted driving, drug and alcohol use, and drowsiness. Managers should review the driver manual, and any other key policies not included in the manual, with each driver.  Reviews should be documented with signatures from both the manager and driver.

Drivers should receive training on key safe driving concepts including speed and space management, rear-end collisions, distracted driving and intersections. Training should address common crash scenarios and weaknesses identified in the road evaluation, while also covering the unique handling characteristics of the vehicles they will be operating. Consider these driver training best practices to enhance orientation.

Training throughout the year

Driver training during initial orientation establishes a baseline for new drivers, but ongoing training, periodic safety meetings and awareness campaigns are needed to keep drivers focused, to combat complacency and to minimize the development of bad habits. 

Training resources

For orientation and safety meetings Nationwide provides free group training videos through Safety Source and free online courses for individual training on our Fugent site. Nationwide has also partnered with Drivers Alert for reduced cost online training utilizing a Learning Management Dashboard. Click here for more information. Registration on our website is required.

Use our infographics to keep safe driving awareness high among drivers. Infographics can be emailed to drivers, posted in driver break rooms or used in safety meetings. Our Monthly Safety Infographics provides a schedule of seasonal topics. For heavier trucks use our truck safety bulletins.

Driver supervision

Monitoring driver behavior throughout the year helps to reinforce safe-driving expectations and identify risks early. Utilizing vehicle telematics systems to identify unsafe driving behavior such as speeding and hard braking has become a best practice. Use our Telematics Selection Guide to determine what features are right for your organization. Use our Telematics Implementation and Driver Coaching Guide to ensure effective use of your system.

Comprehensive telematics systems range from $20-$25 a month per vehicle and a Nationwide subsidized system is available for $7.50 a month per vehicle. For more information contact your agent or Risk Management and Client Solutions representative, 

Telematics-based dashcam systems add an additional layer to driver management by allowing managers to view exactly what happened when an unsafe driving event occurs. The video clips can be used as part of the driver coaching process and to assist with accident investigations. Dashcams with AI can monitor additional unsafe events such as following too close, distracted driving, rolling through stop signs, etc. These systems typically cost $300 to $600 upfront for the camera and $25-$40 a month subscription per vehicle.

Supervisors should conduct 1-2 ride-along evaluations throughout the year to assess driving behavior firsthand. Drivers with unsafe behavior identified by telematics scores, moving violations, accidents, or ride-alongs should receive coaching and additional monitoring until the behavior improves. Drivers who do not improve their behavior should be removed from driving duties. 

Vehicle selection

Organizations should develop minimum safety specifications for new vehicle purchases. This should include requirements for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane change warnings, and back-up cameras as well as crash ratings. 

AEB has been found to reduce rear-end collisions by 40-50%. ADAS has become standard on most light vehicles but is often optional on pickups and larger trucks. While very beneficial in preventing crashes, it is important that drivers understand the safety systems on the vehicles they operate and do not become over-reliant on them. 

Vehicle selection should also include an assessment of a vehicle’s crash ratings, which indicate the vehicle’s ability to protect its occupants in a crash. Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provide information on ADAS and Crash Ratings for light vehicles. 

Vehicle maintenance

A formal maintenance program is essential to ensure vehicles remain safe and roadworthy. Organizations should have a formal plan in place for vehicle inspections, maintenance and removing vehicles from service. The DOT has very specific requirements for regulated vehicles.

Accident Reporting and Management

Organizations should have procedures/forms in place for instructing drivers at the scene of an accident and managing the accident information thereafter. An accident guide and report form should be in every vehicle (Spanish). Investigate the accident to determine the root cause and implement corrective actions, including driver training and more frequent road evaluations. For DOT-regulated vehicles complete an accident register if required. 

Dashcams are recommended for providing video evidence of what happened. Quality non-telematics based dashcams can be purchased for around $200 per camera and require no subscription. 

DOT Compliance

For interstate travel you may fall under Federal DOT regulations depending on the size of your vehicle/trailer, the number of passengers you transport, or if you are hauling hazardous materials. 

• Do I need to comply with Federal DOT requirements (infographic)?
• Complying with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (checklist)
• DOT Safety Planner: general guidance and sample forms
• DOT driver qualification file best practices and checklist
• Drug and alcohol: CDL drivers
• Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
• DOT maintenance requirements

For intrastate travel most states have their own commercial vehicle regulations. Some states incorporate all or a portion of the Federal regulations. Organizations should investigate the regulations in the states they operate. 

Additional resources

• Fleet management
  • Accidents, guidelines & policies
  • Distracted driving
  • DOT regulations
  • Maintenance & security
  • Specialty vehicles and operations
  • Technology & telematics
  • Trailers
  • Transporting passengers
• Driver training
  • Light & medium vehicles
  • Medium & heavy vehicles
  • Training & orientation
  • Videos and online training

[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2023 (bls.gov)

[2] (94%) Critical Reasons for Crashes Investigated in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, Traffic Safety Facts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT HS 812 115, February 2015