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Training and License Checks Keep Drivers Up-to-Date
In all, there are 2,500 drivers for the approximately 700 permanently assigned vehicles. “We have had some drivers who did not have a valid license – mostly because they expired – but we have stopped some from driving because they never had a license or had it revoked,” Roberts says.
While Roberts can’t be sure of the exact number of drivers prevented from driving at the onset of the program, he notes that starting the license checks may have prevented employees without valid licenses from participating in the driver pool.
Even though license checks determine who can be a driver, driver training ensures they stay up-to-date on safe driving practices – an attractive feature for insurance companies. Roberts and his team had already trained some drivers starting in 2001, but in early 2007, they stepped up the program, finding driver training instructors on campus, and mandating training every four years.
Each new employee has 90 days to attend the training. This training is important for driver education, but it’s even more important for insurance purposes. If a driver has an accident, but hasn’t attended training, the department has no collision insurance. Since 2002, U of M has also trained 4,000 drivers of its 15-passenger vans via a two-hour mandatory training class.
“As one of the instructors, I noted that most of the people attending training had never had any driver training since they had gotten their license,” Roberts says. “A lot can change over the years. Most drivers admit the training was a pleasant experience and made them realize how dangerous driving can be. By training our drivers, we are making better drivers, even when they are not driving a university vehicle.”
Higher Up-front Costs are a Worthy Investment
Roberts says some expense was involved in setting up the programs, but given reduced insurance premiums and increased safety on campus, these initiatives were a sound investment.
“The biggest expense was setting up a database to track drivers and their training progress, and also automate some of the notifications that need to be done to maintain the system,” Roberts says. “It takes a lot of work to set this up, but we have been lucky in getting an immediate return. Peace of mind that you are doing all you can do to reduce accidents is worth a lot.”
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Keywords: risk management
