We’ve all had moments on the road we’re not proud of. Whether it’s going beyond the speed limit, cornering too fast, or slamming on the brakes when the road conditions change. What you may not realise at the time is the impact this harsh driving can have on fleets, both for an employee’s safety and the bottom line. We’ve outlined some of the various forms that harsh driving can take, and why tackling it should be a priority.

Overspeeding and acceleration

One of the major contributors to harsh driving is overspeeding. As the name implies, this is when employees significantly exceed a road’s posted speed limit. While all of us drift over the speed limit on occasion, it has to be understood that overspeeding is both a danger to employees and other road users and a cause of increased operating costs.

• Safety risks: Going above the posted speed means drivers aren’t giving themselves the ability to safely react to road hazards, whether that’s sharp corners, pedestrians, schools, or entering traffic. This behaviour is incredibly risky and unnecessarily puts both the drivers and the general public in danger.
• Accident severity: Another thing to consider is that speeding directly increases the likelihood of an accident. It increases the distance required to brake, it makes vehicles more difficult to manoeuvre and increases the severity of any impact with other vehicles, pedestrians, and stationary objects. Reducing speed directly reduces both the chance and severity of an accident.
• Increased costs: Vehicles that speed consume more fuel. In fact, when travelling the same distance, a vehicle will consume 20% more fuel travelling at 120 km per hour than at 100 km per hour. That’s not an insignificant amount of money when multiplied across your fleet. And if your employees are involved in an accident, there’s the potential for your insurance premium increasing.

The consequences of harsh cornering and braking

Harsh cornering and braking are equally concerning forms of aggressive driving.

• Vehicle Wear and Tear: Taking corners too quickly places excessive strain on tires and brake pads, accelerating their deterioration.
• Safety Hazards: A vehicle cornering at high speed risks rolling over or losing control, potentially leading to accidents. Harsh braking, on the other hand, can cause rear-end collisions and create hazardous situations for following vehicles.

Both behaviours highlight the importance of maintaining control and anticipating road conditions to ensure the safety of drivers and other road users.

How proactive management can address harsh driving

One of the reasons Smarak’s solutions are so powerful is that they provide the opportunity for organisations to proactively manage harsh driving.

By investing in a comprehensive telematics solution, you can benchmark and monitor how your employees are behaving while on the road. This is made possible due to hardware that includes accelerometers that detect sudden changes in movements. By capturing this data, you can run reports on how harshly each vehicle is being driven. This means you can identify instances of harsh braking, cornering, acceleration, and where employees are travelling at excessive speeds. This can directly improve your bottom line by reducing fuel consumption and costly vehicle maintenance. It also helps to keep both your employees and other members of the public safe when using the road.

Ready to tackle harsh driving? Get in touch with us today and take the first step toward safer, more efficient fleet management.