Summer may be coming to a close, but the heat sure hasn’t gone down. And while many people believe cautious driving is more important in the winter, the truth is many accidents still occur in the spring and summer, when temperatures and road conditions are at their best.
Even if your business has just one company vehicle, which a few employees occasionally use for deliveries, site visits, sales calls or any other minor tasks, it’s important to keep your drivers and cars safe by preparing them for warmer weather.
Here, we outline some safety tips for driving in warmer weather:
It may seem simple, but making sure you’re aware of your surroundings while on the road can be the difference between a smooth drive and an accident. In fact, distracted driving is one of the leading causes of driving fatalities in Canada. Here are a few tips on things to do when the warmer weather hits:
Drivers often think to perform maintenance on their cars before the winter, undertaking tasks like changing out regular tires for winter ones. But regular maintenance and vehicle checks are always a good idea. In the summer of 2015, the CAA had to help 750,000 Canadians from the roadside. Most of those cases involved battery problems, tire issues, or people locking their keys in the vehicle. Almost half of the cases were not a simple fix, and required the car be towed to a second location for additional assistance.
To ensure this doesn’t happen to you or your employees, here are some checks you can perform during the warmer seasons:
When your employees are driving company cars, telling them to be responsible can only do so much. That’s why offering rewards for responsible driving can be a great approach. Here are some of our suggestions:
Despite your best efforts, you can’t always control everything. That’s why it’s so important to have protection, should you or one of your employees get involved in an accident. Make sure you have a commercial auto insurance policy, as your personal auto policy may not provide the coverage you need. It’s also important to review your commercial auto insurance policy to ensure any employees using company vehicles are covered.
A proactive approach to defensive driving is just as important during warm weather as it is in the winter. Even if you or your employees don’t take the company car out often, make sure they’re as safe as possible when they do. A little awareness and routine inspections can go a long way towards keeping your employees, vehicles, and your business safer over the next several months.
To learn more about how Federated can help, visit our commercial auto insurance page today!