Build an Effective Fleet Safety Programme

Back to Main Menu

background img

Why create a fleet safety programme?

A fleet safety programme is a coordinated, strategic initiative that combines video-based safety technology with consistent coaching to improve driver behaviour, reduce accidents, prevent false claims and lower costs. Keep reading to learn how to build an effective fleet safety programme from start to finish.

How to select the best dash cams

Read more about the benefits of dash cams and how to select the best technology for your fleet.

Learn More

Invest in a video-based safety solution

Before you begin, invest in technology that provides the visibility and data needed to enable a robust fleet safety programme. The NSTSCE found that video-based safety solutions, which include dash cams as well as telematics for real-time GPS tracking, reduce safety-related events by more than 50% on average. If you haven’t invested in a video-based safety solution yet, check out Samsara’s complete Video-Based Safety solution, which includes AI Dash Cams and robust driver coaching tools for improving driving habits and protecting your bottom line. It’s trusted by thousands of fleets, and in a survey of more than 500 Samsara customers, 90% said that Samsara helped improve safety within their fleet.

Define your goals and create an implementation plan

After you’ve invested in a video-based safety solution, rolling out a successful fleet safety programme requires thoughtful change management. The key to success is planning ahead: identifying problem areas, writing down your goals and creating a clear timeline that your team can follow.

Identify problem areas

Most fleets create a safety programme because they have a specific problem or pain point that they’re eager to address, such as a rise in at-fault accidents or a noticeable increase in risky driving behaviour. If you’re not sure where to start, review all of the safety-related incidents that your fleet has experienced in the last six months – including accidents, claim payouts and behavioural issues such as distracted driving or mobile phone usage – to see whether you can identify any patterns. If you have a telematics or video-based safety system like Samsara installed that can detect safety-related events, this technology should be able to help you identify recurring driver safety issues.

Safety & Compliance

two workers looking at a screen

Write down two or three specific goals

Although writing down your goals may seem like an unnecessary formality, it’s widely accepted as a best practice for change management. In fact, an often-cited study found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. Your goals should address the problem areas that you identified above. For example, if your insurance premiums have increased, you may want to create a goal of reducing your at-fault accident rate. Whether you aim for a 5% improvement or a 50% improvement will depend upon the severity of the problem and the difficulty of changing that specific behaviour. Aim for goals that seem achievable but ambitious, and know that you can always adjust your goals in the future.

Create an implementation timeline

An implementation timeline can help you organise your efforts, align internal stakeholders and ensure an efficient and successful deployment. When building your timeline, make sure that you include phases (such as “installation and training”) as well as key milestones (such as “all safety managers and drivers fully trained”). Then, identify key milestones that you’ll need to complete before moving to the next phase so you can proactively prioritise the milestones that matter most. If you have a large team, it may also be helpful to schedule a regular meeting to track progress and stay accountable to your plan. Below, explore our interactive timeline to get an overview of key phases.

Driver Safety Report and two dash cams

Common goals for fleet safety programmes

Decrease

your at-fault accident rate, moving violations or traffic violations

Minimise

costs associated with auto claims, property damage and insurance premiums

Exonerate

innocent drivers from false claims

Improve

your CSA scores

Improve

driver retention and customer satisfaction

Create

a safety-first culture

Define the phases of your rollout

Before diving into implementation, it’s important to align key stakeholders around the phases of your rollout. For most fleets, rolling out a video-based fleet safety programme consists of four phases:

Programme design

Once you have selected a technology partner, spend some time defining your goals and designing an implementation plan. This phase is all about identifying problem areas and pinpointing behaviours that you want to target (such as speeding, distracted driving or drowsiness). You should also identify needs from partners and align internal stakeholders around a clear timeline.

Employee working on a computer

Installation and configuration

Once your team is aligned on your implementation timeline, it’s time to execute your plan. This phase usually involves deploying your hardware (either with in-house technicians or via a third-party installer) and configuring your dashboard. You may want to create custom admin roles so that only certain supervisors have access to dash cam footage.

Person installing a dashcam in a truck

Training and communication

Once your hardware is deployed, it’s essential that you get buy-in for your programme from your entire team – including safety supervisors and drivers – through transparent, clear communication. Keep scrolling for more information about training and communication, including tips for getting driver buy-in for dash cams.

A group of people in business attire standing clapping

Programme building and refinement

Once you have established consistent driver coaching workflows, you can start to introduce additional elements to your programme to maximise ROI. Safety-based rewards, for example, such as bonuses, gift cards or plaques, are a great way to increase driver engagement, decrease risky behaviour and even improve driver retention. This final phase is ongoing and usually includes measuring the ROI of your safety programme.

Screenshot detail of the Samsara dashboard on a mobile
Cover Best Practices for Building a Video-Based Safety Programme

Change management guide

Best Practices for Building a Video-Based Safety Programme

Learn how Samsara can help you implement a successful fleet safety programme from start to finish. This step-by-step change management guide includes implementation best practices, easy-to-follow checklists, safety policy recommendations and success stories from Samsara customers.

Get Your Guide

Communicate your new safety policy and train your team

The next step in building a successful fleet safety programme is getting internal buy-in from your team, including executives, stakeholders and drivers. Transparent communication is key, especially if you’re introducing dash cams for the first time. Before deploying your hardware, consider holding a company-wide meeting to introduce your new programme and answer questions. Then, after deploying your hardware, take a phased approach to training your back-office team and getting buy-in from drivers.

Train your core team and supervisors first

The key to training your team efficiently and successfully is to do it in phases. At Samsara, we use a ‘train the trainer’ approach; by empowering your core team and supervisors first, they can then train drivers and field staff. If your safety managers are headquartered in different locations, consider bringing them together for an in-person training session to learn how to use your new technology.

If you previously completed a trial of Samsara, build your training session around the workflows that you found most effective during your trial period, such as assigning safety-related events to specific managers for review. The goal of training is to evangelise a consistent safety policy that your entire team can enforce.

Three men around a computer; one is pointing at the screen while explaining what they are looking at

Connected Training Quiz Image

Get driver buy-in for dash cams

Drivers are often sceptical about having a dash cam in their cab. This is completely normal, but getting their buy-in during driver training is key to the long-term success of your fleet safety programme. In fact, the NSTSCE has studied what sets excellent fleet safety programmes apart from the rest. The answer? A shift from top-down control to bottom-up engagement. They found that the most effective fleet safety programmes are initially led by management but as drivers become more proactive and invested, their engagement is what drives significant safety improvements.

We’ve helped thousands of customers successfully roll out video-based safety programmes. Below, check out our top nine tips for getting driver buy-in for dash cams.

9 tips for getting driver buy-in for dash cams

Overcome initial driver wariness with these tried-and-tested best practices from our customers

two people standing in front of a person with a suit
Build trust through transparency

70% of employees say that they’re most engaged when senior leadership communicates openly about changes. Before deploying any hardware, hold a Q&A session with drivers. Create an open forum where drivers feel comfortable asking questions and raising concerns, and make sure that you explain your company’s new safety goals so that drivers understand where the change is coming from.

two people looking at a laptop
Explain how the technology works

Emphasise the fact that dash cams are not intended to be a ‘spying’ device. Explain that footage will only be uploaded to the cloud when a safety-related event, such as harsh braking or turning, is detected and assure drivers that only certain administrators will have access to the footage. Provide additional printed collateral and take-home information so drivers know there’s nothing to hide about the technology.

driver in a truck
Lead by Example

Show drivers that you’re not afraid of the technology by installing a dash cam in your own vehicle. Then, identify one or two drivers who are well known across your fleet and ask them whether they would be willing to install dash cams in their cabs. Once they have experienced the dash cams for a few weeks and can see that they are helpful rather than harmful, ask them to share their experiences with other drivers.

exoneration footage example
Showcase Real Exoneration Footage

Successfully exonerating drivers is the most powerful way to make sceptical drivers become supportive of dash cams. If you have an example of a near-miss or not-at-fault collision that was captured during your trial, share the footage with all of your drivers. If you haven’t captured a good example yet, you can use one of the sample clips on our website.

driver looking at the phone while driving
Be Transparent about Corrective Actions

Explain what will trigger verbal or written warnings versus more serious disciplinary actions, such as probation or termination, and define zero-exception behaviour, such as driving under the influence. Make sure that you come to an agreement with drivers before deploying your hardware so there are no surprises once you start coaching. Consistent, unbiased enforcement of corrective actions is always important, but it’s particularly critical if your drivers are part of a union.

person congratulating another one
Offer Incentives and Rewards

79% of employees say they work harder when they feel recognised and 83% say that rewards make them feel more engaged with their job. After deploying your dash cams, introduce a rewards programme as soon as possible. Gamifying driver safety scores and offering rewards (such as bonuses, plaques, gift cards or company freebies) doesn’t just improve driver behaviour and risk management, but it also helps drivers feel as though they’re benefitting from the dash cams, too.

driver in a truck
Celebrate Footage of Defensive Driving

If dash cams are only ever associated with negative events, such as distracted driving or speeding, drivers will learn to dislike them. Make sure that you recognise and reward the moments when dash cams capture footage of drivers responding appropriately, such as braking to avoid a collision when they’re cut up. Consider sending a weekly or monthly email to all drivers that highlights footage of excellent driving.

samsara dashboard screenshot
Toggle on Features in Stages

After deploying advanced dash cams with features that you can toggle off and on, such as in-cab voice coaching, it can be tempting to turn on every feature at once. This can be overwhelming for drivers, causing them to become frustrated with the dash cams before they’ve had a chance to see their benefits. For the first one to two weeks, keep all optional features toggled off. Introducing optional features in stages can result in higher long-term ROI.

example of a camera cover
Consider Offering Camera Covers

Consider offering removable camera covers that drivers can use to block the dash cam lens when needed. Camera covers can make drivers feel more comfortable with having a dash cam installed in their cab, especially long-distance drivers who utilise a sleeper berth. Plus, proactively offering a removable camera cover minimises the chances that a driver will permanently damage the hardware.

Report

Towards Vehicle Safety Technology

Together for Safer Roads (TSR) surveyed over 500 professional drivers to find out what makes drivers reluctant to adopt in-cab camera technology and what can be done to positively influence perceptions. They found that seven out of 10 drivers equipped with in-cab technology find all forms of the technology acceptable.

Get the Report

Driver attitudes report cover

Improve driver behaviour with consistent, data-driven coaching

Driver coaching is the backbone of any fleet safety programme, but studies have shown that driver coaching is most effective when combined with data from a telematics system and video footage from dash cams. Building a consistent, data-driven driver coaching workflow into your day-to-day operations is the key to improving driver behaviour, reducing accidents and ultimately lowering safety-related costs.

Importance of Coaching

87%

of commercial vehicle accidents are caused by driver error

52%

fewer accidents occur when driver coaching and dash cams are used together

Set up alerts for targeted behaviours

Revisit your goals to determine which risky driving behaviours (such as harsh braking, speeding or distracted driving) you need to address. Then, help your back office focus on what matters most by setting up alerts so that fleet safety managers can immediately coach drivers on targeted behaviours. For example, with Samsara, you can set up real-time SMS or email alerts for a variety of safety-related events – including harsh acceleration, harsh braking and rolling stops – as well as speed, so you can be notified when a vehicle exceeds a certain speed limit.

Give immediate feedback with in-cab alerts

Feedback is most effective when it’s delivered in a timely manner, especially for drivers who run long routes and may forget about harsh events by the time they are brought in for coaching. Make sure that you choose a dash cam (such as Samsara’s AI Dash Cam) that has a speaker and can play in-cab messages for things such as harsh braking, speeding and unbuckled seat belts. For maximum effectiveness, wait one to two weeks after installing your hardware before turning on voice coaching so drivers don’t become overwhelmed.

Establish consistent coaching workflows, especially for corrective actions

Some risky driving behaviours are more serious than others. Determine what requires a short conversation and what requires something more serious, such as an in-person meeting. Maximise your impact by regularly coaching all drivers in group sessions and reserving one-to-one coaching sessions for drivers who dip below a predetermined safety score threshold. Then, document your best practices and give coaches standardised scripts for responding to different types of harsh events so that coaching isn’t biased.

driver coaching handbook cover

Handbook

Driver Coaching: Best Practices and Frameworks for Success

Ready to empower your drivers to become safer and more efficient? Our comprehensive driver coaching handbook can help you enhance your fleet safety and performance, whether you’re starting from scratch or improving on an existing programme. This handbook includes best practices from industry experts, practical checklists and tactical insights from our experienced customers.

Get your Handbook

See how Samsara’s coaching tools improve driver safety

Identify and manage coachable driving moments and give drivers personalised, video-based feedback to improve future performance.

Learn More

Create a positive safety culture with driver performance rewards

One of the best ways to maximise the impact of your fleet safety programme is to introduce driver performance rewards: bonuses, plaques, gift cards or other incentives that are awarded to your safest drivers. Rewards are a great way to incentivise safe driving, share the benefits of a safer fleet with your drivers and improve driver retention. Although you can introduce a rewards programme at any time, the earlier the better; rewards are extremely helpful for getting driver buy-in and creating a positive safety culture.

Start by tracking driver safety scores

Since installing Samsara, Lanes Group plc has seen a reduction in the frequency and severity of incidents, recently featuring in the top 25% of safest fleets according to Samsara’s annual Fleet Safety Score. The team has also been able to lower their premiums and reduce the average cost of each claim by £1,000—generating an annual insurance saving overall of £250K per year.

Read Case Study

Samsara dashboard on a tablet

Why Rewards Work

79%

of employees work harder when they feel recognised

83%

of employees feel more engaged when they get rewards

Create friendly competition through gamification

Countless studies have shown that when an activity is more fun, people are more likely to do it. For example, when taking the stairs becomes a game, 66% more people choose to take the stairs rather than an escalator. This is called ‘gamification’, and it plays into human psychology in a way that’s extremely effective. In the Samsara Driver App, for example, you can turn on gamification to create a virtual leaderboard that ranks drivers according to their safety score. This makes it easy to see top performers, encourage friendly competition and motivate drivers to improve their ranking.

Offer compelling rewards

To maximise engagement, the rewards that you choose should be attractive and relevant. Make sure that you customise the incentives to fit your company culture. Remember that each prevented accident represents thousands of pounds in saved costs, so allow drivers to share in some of those savings by rewarding top performers with monetary gifts, special privileges or other prizes. Depending on your team, consider announcing the winner during team meetings, creating a safe driver ‘wall of honour’ in the break room or even sending a congratulations email company-wide.

gift card icon
Gift Card

Wall of Honour icon
Wall of Honour

Invite-Only Breakfast with Leadership icon
Invitation-Only Breakfast with Leadership

Company-Branded Gear icon
Company-Branded Gear

Company-Wide Recognition icon
Company-Wide Recognition

Extra Vacation Days icon
Extra Vacation Days

eBook

How to Build a Driver Safety Rewards Programme

Learn how to implement an incentive-based safety programme to help your drivers practise safe driving.

Get your eBook

driver safety reward programme cover

Make fleet safety a priority with Samsara

Samsara offers an all-in-one platform for improving fleet safety, empowering drivers and reducing costs.

A man in a safety vest adjusts a dash cam while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle.

Protect drivers in the moments that matter with Samsara AI Dash Cams, which empower fleet drivers to build safe habits with real-time coaching. Samsara’s robust coaching and reporting tools make it easy to optimise driver performance and maximise coaching effectiveness.

Samsara dashboard on a tablet

Samsara’s to-the-second GPS and vehicle diagnostics give you best-in-class visibility across your fleet of vehicles to maximise vehicle safety and fleet operations. Minimise risk and maximise uptime with insights into vehicle safety, driver compliance and fleet security.

Worker with a safety vest looking at a camera

Simplify the driver experience in the cab and beyond with the Samsara Driver App. Increase driver safety with safety training and reward programmes and incentivise safer driver behaviour with gamification. Build custom driver training workflows specific to your fleet safety systems and policies.

Nine out of ten customers say that Samsara has helped improve safety within their fleet

Learn More

worker on a truck

Midland Tyre Services

Midland Tyre Services reduced accidents by 54% with Samsara's safety solutions.
Read more