Help your employees avoid distracted driving

As a horticultural business owner, it’s essential to keep safety at the forefront and encourage defensive driving habits among your employees. To help you protect your drivers, your bottom line, and others on the road, we’ve compiled eight strategies for your drivers to follow:

Defensive driving begins before the truck starts moving. Review your route, schedule breaks, set your GPS, and organize paperwork.

Create a voicemail that informs callers you’re unavailable while driving. Automatically forward calls to your manager or a designated employee to manage while you’re en route.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), taking your eyes off the road for more than two seconds doubles your risk of a crash.

Eating while driving can be surprisingly dangerous, as it can be messy and take your attention away from the road. Schedule your food breaks around truck stops or travel center locations. If necessary, pull off the road to a rest stop to eat.

If you’re fiddling with the radio or reaching for items while driving, you’re not focused on the road. A recent study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that 80% of distraction-related crashes involved a driver whose attention wandered three seconds before the accident happened.

Minds can wander, especially if the road is monotonous. Stay focused by actively observing other drivers. Try to recognize their driving patterns and predict their next moves.

Watch for upcoming on-ramps and intersections where other drivers may suddenly enter the highway. Give enough room between vehicles to maneuver if another driver suddenly brakes or swerves into your lane.

Drowsy driving was a factor in nearly 700 fatal crashes in 2022, according to the NHTSA. If you’re feeling weary, immediately pull off the road and find a safe place to rest.

Fleet managers or safety supervisors can implement a driver coaching and training program specifically focused on distracted driving. An in-house program can help your drivers identify and actively address dangerous behaviors and help you avoid costly repercussions.

You can use your fleet management and telematics data to personalize driver coaching and correct distracted driving issues in real-time. Your training program could cover risky behaviors like behind-the-wheel phone use and driving while fatigued, distractions that can cause unsafe lane departure, and aggressive behaviors like following too closely and speeding. Real-life examples and video stories to highlight the dangers of distracted driving can be valuable supplemental training tools.

To help your drivers keep their training top-of-mind, develop a distracted driving prevention policy that requires drivers to be retrained annually, and have them sign their commitment to safe driving practices.

Most people know distracted driving is dangerous, but they do it anyway. Adapting new technologies into vehicles used for work can be beneficial.

Many horticultural businesses are proactive in using new technology options to help lower the risk of driver accidents. Depending on the age of the vehicle, some fleets, delivery trucks, and personal vehicles have driver monitoring systems and collision-avoidance programs already installed by the manufacturer. A popular safety requirement to discourage cellphone use while driving is to have drivers install an anti-distraction app that disables their smartphone when the vehicle crosses pre-set limits.

As technology continues to advance, it’s essential to stay up to date with the latest safety features and incorporate them into your driver management practices where applicable.

Accidents caused by distracted driving can impact your business on many levels—from increased driver injuries and decreased productivity to expensive repairs and higher auto insurance premiums.

If an accident happens, commercial auto insurance coverage can help protect your business, covering any vehicles you own, rent, or lease. It also provides protection if you or your employees drive privately owned vehicles for business purposes or drive company cars for business and personal purposes. Coverages include:

• Bodily injury

• Medical expenses

• Property damage

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist

We’ll work with you to help you determine the coverages best suited for your horticultural operation. Our agents are dedicated solely to supporting and protecting horticultural businesses.

Learn more about why our specialized insurance makes the most sense for your bottom line. Request a quote, email us, or give us a call at 800-541-5082 to speak with one of our representatives.


Related links:

Learn how to reduce your horticultural business's losses for employee auto accidents with commercial auto insurance.

Addressing daily hazards through regular training empowers your employees to work confidently and helps reduce accidents. A culture that values safety helps ensure your team and your horticultural business thrive.

To provide the best possible protection, tailor your insurance coverage to reflect the risks you face. Here are six top horticultural business risks and the coverages that can help reduce losses.