2020 has been a pretty tough year for businesses, when it comes to getting their products out to customers. Some well established companies might have systems in place to ensure they are doing the right thing. Some have seen their business grow and grow, (especially supermarkets) by as much as two thirds! Others are hanging on by their fingertips and some have gone for ever.

For those who have managed to hang on, what does your company do to ensure all that hard work is not blown away with a few poorly trained or undisciplined drivers who have either not had the benefit of a good quality, continued driver education and just do their own thing, which could mean they don’t come up to your high standards!

It is thought that 20% of bumps and scrapes occur in car parks.  The RAC claim that two-thirds of British drivers have experienced some kind of damage to their car after parking in a car park. 28% have experienced three lots of damage, and 23% of people have experience five! The AA say that at least 20% of all insurance claims come from car park accidents – the most common category of car insurance claims.

Can these be avoided?  Of course they can, with good driver education on how to park safely and accurately, where to park at different times of day, where there is some form of security to catch incidents happening. Consider those vehicles in the area where you are looking to park and park next to one that looks as good as yours and in an area that isn’t busy.

Does your company insist on an assessment drive before a driver is employed?  If not, why not? Are you really going to send a prospective employee out in a high value vehicle, (there aren’t many cheap vehicles on the market), without first knowing if they will take good care of it?  Is it only about their skill sets or is it something much deeper?  What should an employer really be looking for in a prospective employee?

Do your drivers carry out the daily walk around checks correctly or do they just tick the boxes as done? Have they received training to do it correctly? If not, do you have an in-house trainer or would you consider asking a training company to do this?

What are the potential ramifications of noncompliance with internal standard operational procedures (SOP’s) or those required by law?  Can your company afford to allow your drivers to get these basics wrong?  Is there a Compliance Manager who is responsible for ensuring SOP’s and the law is being complied with?  Is there a place for periodic, good quality, cost effective continued driver education being put in place to help stop future non-compliance?

 

References:

Financial Times – Tesco to create 16,000 permanent jobs to bolster online business – Accessed on line 271120 https://www.ft.com/content/1821dca8-5f82-42e6-b136-4977240d7ce4

Insure the box – Accessed on line 271120 – https://www.insurethebox.com/what-happens-if-you-have-an-accident-in-a-car-park/