As you’re looking back on the past year, consider whether you are doing everything you can to protect your fleet and business. Is the annual motor vehicle record (MVR) enough to keep your drivers safe and protect your company from Negligent Entrustment liability? Many fleet operators have found that they require a solution with license status visibility 365 days out of the year.
Annual MVRs Equal 364 Days of Blindness
While you’re only required to pull driver MVRs once per year, the annual MVR approach can leave you vulnerable and put your drivers at risk. Oftentimes a driver will be unaware of their license status change, and that can put a company at risk.
Let’s say you pull MVRs for all of your drivers on January first and then one of your drivers has a violation on January second. You won’t find out about the violation until next year; that’s a 364 day “grace period” where their violation goes unknown. Since the violation goes unnoted to the fleet during the grace period, the driver remains on the road. Grace periods also lead to missed training and coaching that could help correct the issue behind the violation and prevent it from happening again.
Avoid Liability and Negligent Entrustment
In a recent discussion with Fleet Management Weekly, Trent Dressen the Vice President of Sales for SuperVision explained, “If you’re putting a driver on the road that has a history of violations, or worst case they have a suspended license, the risk is on the company.”
Negligent entrustment places liability on a business for trusting someone with control of a dangerous article when they should not be in control of that article. The act of negligent entrustment is not always intentional and often occurs when a business is unaware of a suspension or violation. In the case of fleet management, this means allowing someone with a violation or suspended license access to a company vehicle that is then used to cause harm to another person.
Negligent entrustment is an ever-present concern when managing a fleet. Annual MVR, maintenance records, and other documentation are meant to reduce risk. One of the best techniques to minimize risk is with continuous license monitoring for all company drivers.
Real-Time Monitoring Provides 365 Days of Clarity
Real-time monitoring, also referred to as continuous driver license monitoring, allows a fleet manager to receive violations as they occur. Say goodbye to 364-day grace periods. With real-time monitoring, Dressen explains, “companies can take proactive action and take the necessary steps to make sure [violations] aren’t continuing to happen.”
By getting violation information sooner, fleet managers can take immediate, necessary corrective action with the driver; whether that is remedial driver training to correct unsafe behaviors or dismissal for serious offenses such as license suspension or a crash.
License Monitor from SuperVision can help you stay ahead of the problems and keep your drivers on the road. SuperVision’s comprehensive monitoring solution provides continuous license monitoring and fleet safety management resources. SuperVision’s powerful suite of tools can help you manage fleet compliance and safety while improving driver performance and retention.
Employing drivers comes with a responsibility to keep both them and the public safe on the road and avoid liability issues. Protect your company by taking advantage of a powerful fleet monitoring solution from SuperVision.