Safety Pointers for Before You Get Behind the Wheel – Safety

Safety starts before a driver puts his or her vehicle in motion. Remind your drivers to arrange each themselves and their vehicles before they take to the roadways. A number of proactive steps may also help fleet drivers stay protected of their travels, regardless of what they encounter. Share these pointers along with your team:

Do a Walk-Around

Once you get in your vehicle — either originally of your workday or after each appointment — do you just open the door and step inside? In that case, you’re missing a crucial opportunity to enhance your safety.

Fleet drivers should develop a habit of conducting a really temporary walk-around inspection of their vehicle every time they get in. It’s best to do the inspection once you first enter your vehicle initially of your workday and every time you come back to the vehicle in the course of the course of the day. It is going to only take a couple of minute, and the advantages will far outweigh the minimal time spent.

Consider the various ways a walk-around may also help protect you:

• In case you see a vehicle parked near you, you’ll know that you might want to be extra careful when pulling out to avoid hitting it.
• In case you see an obstruction nearby corresponding to an object that’s directly behind your vehicle, but too low to be seen out of a rearview mirror, you may take steps to avoid hitting it.
• In case you spot potential hazards on the bottom, corresponding to glass or nails, you may remove them to avoid a flat tire.
• In case you notice a tire is low, you may add air before you run the chance of a flat tire while in transit.
• In case you see you might have left the vehicle tailgate or trunk open, you may close it to avoid damage while backing up.
• In case you notice evidence of a fluid leak, you may schedule a repair before it turns right into a dangerous situation.

Adjust Your Mirrors Properly

Before you switch on the engine, deal with your mirrors. The position of your outside mirrors is important to your safety. Improperly positioned mirrors may prevent you from seeing other vehicles, pedestrians, or objects you might want to concentrate on while driving.

Conversely, properly positioned mirrors will help to enhance your view and can especially help to reduce blind spots. When vehicles are not any longer visible out of your inside rear-view mirror, you’ll spot them sooner in your side mirrors in the event that they are arrange appropriately.

Many drivers often make the error of positioning their outside mirrors too far inward, so what they’re seeing is the side of their very own vehicle relatively than the world across the vehicle. Use the next approach to position your mirrors properly — before you depart:

• Lean toward the middle of the vehicle.
• Look into the right-side mirror and adjust it until you may not see the side of your vehicle.
• Sit up and glance within the right-side mirror that you simply just adjusted. You shouldn’t see any portion of your personal vehicle on this mirror.

Once on the road, it is best to never rely solely in your mirrors once you change lanes on a multi-lane road or once you merge into traffic from an entrance ramp. Your mirrors won’t all the time display the complete roadway and without an accurate view of what’s happening around you, you may make the error of switching lanes or merging on the unsuitable time.

Along with using your mirrors, also glance over your shoulder — quickly and several other times as needed — to see the position of the vehicles around you before you alter lanes or merge onto a road. If there are multiple lanes, look across all of them — not only the lanes directly next to you. Since motorists have been known to chop across several lanes directly, it’s helpful to see if a vehicle two lanes away is starting to maneuver in your direction.

Store All Items Securely

The way you pack your vehicle before departing also plays a task in your safety. In case you’re in a rush, chances are you’ll are inclined to drop work items onto the rear seat or floor without considering the potential hazard.

Keep in mind that you and the objects inside your vehicle are traveling at the identical speed because the vehicle itself. If you should stop abruptly, or in the event you are hit by one other vehicle, any loose items will likely develop into airborne. On the very least they’ll distract you; at worst, they may cause injury and even fatalities in the event that they are heavy enough.

Avoiding this safety risk is easy: All the time store all items in your vehicle securely, using the next guidelines:

• Store heavy items within the trunk or cargo area, not within the occupant area.
• If you should carry items within the vehicle occupant area, place them on the rear floor or secure them on the seat with a seatbelt, bungee cord, or another restraint.
• Pay special attention to electronics, since laptops and tablets may cause damage, injury, or worse in the event that they develop into airborne.

Prepare Yourself for the Road

Preparing your vehicle is one matter, but preparing yourself is equally necessary. Before setting out to your day, make certain you’re alert and refreshed.

Drowsy driving-related crashes claimed the lives of 684 people on the nation’s roadways in 2021, in accordance with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Fleet drivers log way more hours behind the wheel than the common driver, so it’s essential to get seven to nine hours of sleep nightly. Be sure you are feeling alert and focused before setting out for the day.

As well as, take steps to make certain you’re comfortable before setting your vehicle in motion — from adjusting the vehicle temperature, opening or closing windows, and setting the GPS. By doing all of these items before the vehicle is moving, you’ll be more comfortable and fewer distracted while driving.

Finally, even skilled drivers must be reminded to buckle up each time they get behind the wheel. Certainly one of the safest decisions a driver could make is to lock his or her seat belt. In 2017 alone, seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives, notes NHTSA.