Trucking is a dangerous industry. There is no getting around that. You’ve got 18-wheelers hurtling down the roads, which they share with much smaller vehicles. Even a smaller truck, like a box truck or a tow truck, is still far heavier than a normal car. And besides, the trucking industry is heavily regulated. Something that I’ve learned in my experience working in transportation insurance is that safety can be the key to success for trucking businesses. There are a few things towing and trucking businesses can do to step up their safety and protect themselves.
Why is safety so important for success in towing?
Safety can make or break a trucking business. For starters, safety can prevent unnecessary truck insurance claims. (And that can help you keep your insurance rates down, by the way.) Having a commitment to safety can help you protect your drivers and the people they share the road with. Along with that, safety can help you make a good impression on people who are looking in at your business from the outside. All of this is to say that you can’t underestimate the importance of safety at your towing or trucking business.
How can you improve safety at your business?
If safety is the key to success, how can you make your business safer? There are a few things you can do to step up your safety game.
1. Cameras.
What do cameras have to do with trucking? Well, here’s the thing. Let’s say that there’s an accident when a car jumps right out in front of the truck. (Ordinary drivers often don’t understand how much space they need to give to commercial vehicles.) If you have front-facing cameras in the truck, they’ll show exactly what happened. It can help establish fault and it can help show that the driver wasn’t necessarily doing anything wrong, like not paying close enough attention to the road. Those cameras can keep the driver’s reputation from being ruined, too. Of course, having rear-facing cameras on the truck’s trailer can be helpful, too, but that might not be possible if you don’t own the trailers you haul.
(And another thing to know is that you could get an insurance discount for having cameras.)
2. Drivers.
Your drivers are the ones operating your trucks. So you need to make sure you have trustworthy drivers behind the wheel of your commercial vehicles. It’s absolutely crucial. Your drivers need to be committed to safety rather than speed. That means that you need to screen your drivers carefully so that you can be sure you’re hiring quality people who have good judgment. (That means running MVRs, for example.) Your drivers should have clear records that don’t include tickets or accidents.
Think of it like this. Imagine that you’re driving a sedan down the highway when you end up next to a semi-truck. If you could look over and see the driving record of the truck driver, would you rather see a clean record or one that has a ton of tickets and accidents? Of course you’d feel safer in your car if the driver had a clean record. If their record isn’t good, you’d probably want to get out of dodge as soon as possible.
3. Vehicle maintenance.
It’s also really important to properly maintain your vehicles. This is for the safety of your truck driver and the other drivers on the road. A poorly maintained vehicle can be extremely unsafe. Maintaining your vehicles means that there are daily checks happening to ensure the vehicle’s safety. (For example, looking after the tires.) Your drivers need to make sure they’re doing vehicle checks before they hit the road.
Getting the right truck insurance for your business.
Safety is essential for success at your towing or trucking business, but it’s also important to to work with an agent who specializes in transportation insurance. An agent who understands the transportation industry gets the stuff like your filings. They know trucking and they can help you protect your business. Trucking insurance is complicated, and unless you have an agent who’s experienced in the industry it can be hard to get coverage that’s tailored to your business and that will fully protect your trucking company. It’s definitely something to be aware of when you’re making decisions about your truck insurance.
