Document Bypg5JoR9modJb0N6mdQpKVQL

MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT program of driver selection, training, and supervision, and that vehicle failure can be reduced by systematic preventive mainte nance Cost of Vehicle Accidents Experience has proved that the unsuper vised fleet will have a higher accident fre quency rate than the supervised one Also, the total cost of a vehicle accident far ex ceeds the amount recovered from the in surance company Control of accidents m the large motor transportation fleet is especially desirable because its insurance premiums fluctuate with its accident frequency and seventy rates (see Chapter 9, "Accident Records and Injury Rates") The small fleet, how ever, is usually not rewarded with lower insurance rates m return for good safety performance The cost of insurance for the small fleet will fluctuate little, if at all The cost of insurance, however, is not the only cost which accidents levy against a company There are indirect costs, also Some experts calculate these costs to be from three to four tunes that of insurance They may be listed as follows 1 Loss of service of the company employee injured m an accident Loss of a key salesman or company representative at a critical time could be incalculable 2 Added workmen's compensation costs resulting from an employee having been injured m an accident 3 Loss of use of the vehicle while it is being repaired 4 Cost of supervisory tune spent in clean ing up after the accident 5 Cost of repairing the company vehicle 6 Cost of repairing or replacing other property 7 Poor customer and public relations re sulting from a company vehicle's having been involved in an accident The most telling argument for control ling accidents, however, is that the com pany has a moral obligation to the employee and to the pubbc to do so The employer through his authority to hire, supervise, discipline, and discharge employees enjoys a high degree of control over their driving performance He has only to exercise that control by employing the simple and proved techniques of driver safety education and supervision Vehicle Safety Program A vehicle safety program should provide for 1 A definite safety policy, originated and emphatically enforced by top manage ment, with delegated responsibilities 2 A safety director (full or part-time) 3 A driver safety program, including driv er selection procedure, driver training, and interest-sustaining activities 4 An efficient system for accident report ing, investigation, analysis, end follow-up. 5 Preventive maintenance procedures Delegating responsibility The first requirement of a good driver safety program is that management, from the president to the immediate supervisor, must accept its responsibility for the safe operation of company vehicles As in the case of other desirable qualities of job per formance, management must first demand safe operation, define standards of accepta ble performance, and then organize means for the inspection and correction of job per formance to meet these standards Management must evolve and enforce the pohcy that accident prevention is a pri mary activity for drivers, as well as for mplant personnel, and that due regard for safe operation of vehicles is a condition of employment A capable and responsible person in the organization should be designated safety supervisor or safety director and should be made responsible for the safe operation of all automotive equipment In the ordi nary industrial concern, this may be a jiarttune assignment The job assignment of safety supervisor should entail the following duties 1 Develop and promote safety activities and accident prevention measures throughout the fleet 2 Study and recommend safety fleet pohcy m relation to equipment and facilities, personnel selection and training, and other phases of fleet operation. 44-2