As a trucking company working to ensure you operate with a safer, more effective fleet, you are likely constantly asking yourself questions about the habits of your truck drivers, safety, and solutions available to ensure they are not victims of distracted driving or other unsafe habits.
As a fleet manager wanting to do his or her best job, you are constantly trying to get to the bottom of why truck drivers drive distracted and why so many of your prior strategies at addressing the issue are simply ineffective. The problem always lies in truck drive behavior. Operators work in routines and the only way unsafe habits change is through behavioral change.
The Mobile Device Daily Crush
This is where technology comes in. And in this case, technology can be a blessing, not a curse. The fact is we all have some sort of technological addiction. Studies have consistently shown that we reach for and actively look at our mobile devices nearly 100 times per day. That is an insane number, if you stop to think about it. And here’s where the problem lies – we don’t simply stop doing it when we aren’t driving.
But why do we do it? Well, there is on simple word for it: Dopamine. When we hear the tone of our smartphones or catch someone commenting about us on social media, it gives us a slight dopamine rush. This is the same chemical – along with serotonin – that regulate addiction and pain and pleasure responses.
It has been well proven that our proclivity to constantly be looking at our mobile devices is a huge distraction. And let’s face it, it’s a distraction both on the road and elsewhere. How many times have you been hanging out with a friend or family member only to find them spending more time with their mobile device than they spend with you?
And it is even worse when we drive distracted. Mobile devices are all too often the reason people, whether truck drivers or not, get into accidents. So, what’s a fleet manager to do? You need to invest in a solution that helps you change the behavior at its root. There is one simple question you need to ask yourself. Is your fleet’s mobile device and cell phone policy actually preventing distracted driving?
What’s in Your Policy?
A defining distracted driving and cell phone policy is critical for any organization operating at least one commercial motor vehicle. Of course, a policy by itself is not always a deterrent, but having it in place sets a clear precedent and provides a blueprint that your operators can follow. It is important that those operating your vehicles understand the consequences of distracted driving and take efforts to avoid it.
It is important, however, to not take your policy too far. Truck drivers still want to be able to stay in touch while on the road. You simply cannot eliminate all calls, podcasts, or apps. You must enact a policy that is reasonable and can be followed. The key is to co-opt the devices. Create a policy that includes practices and tools with the ability to prevent the behavior before it becomes a problem.
Fortunately, you can use technology to your advantage. There are plenty of tools available to help truck drivers limit their texting, video watching, and use of distracting apps while on the road. Distracted driving prevention apps are all the rage in the trucking telematics sector these days, and fleets can seamlessly integrate hands-free calling across their fleet.
Monitoring is not Prevention
If there is one thing you must remember, it is this: Monitoring bad behavior does not inherently prevent it. Sure, you can have a clearly worded policy, in-cab cameras, and clear consequences for distracted driving, but policies and equipment themselves will not stop someone from engaging in a distracted driving incident.
Instead, what you need to do is implement a system – an effective enforcement policy – to prevent and, in many cases, even predict truck driver behavior. This is how you nip distracted driving in the bud before it becomes a widespread problem across the fleet. You may want to focus on rewarding good behavior and opt for less restrictions. You want to avoid policies that do nothing other than punish a truck driver for bad behavior. Incentivizing good behavior is very often an effective tactic.
Also consider that your policy is probably easily outsmarted. Never assume you have written an ironclad policy that determined truckers cannot break or ignore. You must have a seamless, comprehensive system for monitoring and reporting bad behavior and policies that are both informative and actionable. Make sure you have clear statements in place about smart watches, cell phones, tablets, Bluetooth communication devices, and wearables.
Also make sure our policy clearly outlines what to do about unauthorized, or “rogue” devices. This is how your operators get around clear-cut policies. Fortunately, there are plenty of apps out there to help you prevent such a problem. One such app actually uses your smartphone to detect other rogue devices your truck drivers may have in the cab. But not all apps or cameras are created equal.
Cameras Aren’t the Only Answer
Far too many fleet managers view cameras as the ultimate answer to all their driver behavior questions. Just don’t get caught up thinking in-cab cameras are the only answer. Sure, they are great at recording events that happen in the cab, including those that happen just before or after a distracted driving-related event, but all they do is record the incident, they do not prevent it.
In-cab video cameras certainly reveal when a truck driver uses a rogue device while driving, but the problem is that once the problem has occurred and is caught on video, you must act against the individual who was caught. It could very well be that this action leads to an individual’s termination. As a result, your attrition numbers go up, you experience higher truck driver turnover, and your organization as whole suffers from a productivity standpoint.
On the other hand, if a driver commits an infraction and action is not taken, that same operator could wind up getting into an accident. Get ready for potential tragedy and almost certainly a lawsuit. Imagine if the evidence in a follow up trial that the fleet manager knew of evidence showing distracted driving but did nothing to act on it. We’ve talked about nuclear verdicts before. They put fleets out of business.
When you combine cameras with apps and other technologies, then you can prevent, rather than report on, potentially devastating incidents involving distracted driving. To succeed in these efforts, you must go to the root of the problem, our ever-increasing technology addiction.
Technology Addiction is the Problem
Look, even when truck drivers know a camera is watching them in the cab while they are operating a big rig, many times they inevitably reach for a mobile device anyway! The compulsion is sometimes a stronger motivator than the consequence. Adopting a separate tool to address the addiction may be the only way to curb distracted driving.
If you combine your in-cab camera technologies with mobile apps and other devices, the driver themselves can be alerted if they begin engaging in a behavior they may not even realize is happening. Still, don’t expect people to be automatically okay with putting an app on their phone. Some may have legitimate concerns around privacy.
Fortunately, there are options on the market that provide clear-cut terms and can be integrated with your current fleet management systems. If your truck drivers are already used to working with an in-house fleet management system, connecting up an app designed to prevent distracted driving might come with easy buy-in among your fleet drivers.
Explain the Benefits
The best way to ensure your truck drivers buy into new technologies designed to help them. You might hear one of your people say they will quit if they must put one of these apps on their mobile device. Consider that they may be using this as the reason, but there could be other reasons, such as a desire to spend more time at home or earn more money somewhere else.
Mobile apps designed to help reduce an individual’s dependence on technology might actually improve retention if it is positioned properly. If you can demonstrate to your drivers that the technology will actually reduce the chances of them making a mistake, they may not even realize they are about to make, it will be a lot easier to get their buy-in.
In the end, the entire organization is on the line when truck drivers make the mistake of distracted driving. It is up to the entire fleet to take it upon themselves to make safety a priority. Fortunately, in-cab cameras and new apps and devices can help them do just that. All it takes it a little due diligence. It’s what separates the good fleets from the great fleets.