In an industry in which drivers play a vital role in business success, recruiting and retaining good drivers is an important consideration for all distributors. No distributor wants to be short of drivers, especially at key times of the year when every delivery is vital to both customer satisfaction and business success. But, alongside recruitment, it is essential that driver management is also considered to avoid unintended business impacts of unhappy or disengaged drivers.
Award sponsor
In this issue we hear from Karl Jones of downstream fuel industry insurance specialist OAMPS, sponsors of the annual industry award for Driver of the Year, who considers what effective Driver Risk Management looks like and how it can impact positively on both driver wellbeing and business performance.
OAMPS Hazardous Industries is the long-standing and enormously proud sponsor of the UKIFDA Driver of the Year award. Since 2000, we’ve supported the success of exceptional delivery drivers who maintain high standards each year.
As specialist insurance advisors, we know that there’s more to effective driver risk management than offering £1,000 prize money and a trophy to great drivers!
Various risk management surveys analysing many operators have highlighted areas where positive influence can impact drivers’ performance. In turn, driver performance can affect other aspects, for example running costs, including fuel, tyres, brakes, etc. as well as claims costs and consequently insurance premiums.
Some of these factors could seem to be outside the control of the operator; personality being an obvious one. But each operator exercises control over who they choose to employ – careful selection that looks not only at the driver’s technical ability, but how they are likely to perform when the driver trainer is not in the cab with them.
Technology
Technology, in terms of telematics performance, can be used to help create a competitive atmosphere which has helped some businesses improve running costs while also lowering accident frequency. And cameras can also help with spurious claims and enable quicker decisions on liability, which can lower third party claims costs; typically the biggest claims cost for fleet operators, and therefore a major factor in their insurance premiums. It can also help monitor the use of personal mobile devices while driving, which is an increasing issue for any business operating company vehicles.
Physical and mental health and welfare is obviously a major factor – including eye tests and increasingly, random drug and alcohol testing, and spotting the early warning signs around stress, tiredness and anxiety.
Vehicle maintenance, including swift responses to the outcomes of daily defect checks, as well as the age and condition of the equipment can also have a positive impact on driver’s attitudes. Attitudes can be impacted with good training and effective planning that sit alongside manageable workloads.
Attracting and keeping good drivers is increasingly about more than just salary. Benefits, such as personal accident or private medical insurance, or access to cash plans that cover trips to the dentist, physiotherapy, etc. are becoming more popular. The better benefit schemes include 24/7 GP access, discounts for day-to-day things such as grocery shopping or gym membership, and discretionary purchases.
Our experience over the past 40 years is that happy and engaged drivers generally are better performers – costing their employers less in terms of fleet running costs, having fewer accidents, which can help enormously with downtime costs, missed deliveries, etc. and ultimately doing their individual bit to help reduce their employers fleet insurance costs.
If you’d like to speak with an OAMPS Hazardous Industries insurance specialist about understanding your business risks, you can find our details at www.oamps.co.uk.
See you at the UKIFDA show awards in May 2025!
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of this article is to provide guidance on the issues covered. This article is not intended to give legal advice, and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and/or market practice in this area. We make no claims as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein or in the links which were live at the date of publication. You should not act upon (or should refrain from acting upon) information in this publication without first seeking specific legal and/or specialist advice. OAMPS Hazardous Industries, part of Pen Underwriting Limited accepts no liability for any inaccuracy, omission or mistake in this publication, nor will we be responsible for any loss which may be suffered as a result of any person relying on the information contained herein.
Images provided by OAMPS
