According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, statistics show 70% of deaths in drunk driving crashes in 2010 involved motorists with blood alcohol levels that were nearly twice the .08 legal limit. 

More than half of employers don’t test company drivers for alcohol or drug use, according to a survey of more than 130 companies sponsored by the U.K. Licence Bureau. Considering that  driving under the influence crashes “increased by 12% . . .  (from 2010 to 2011), and seriously injured casualties rose by 3%,” fleet managers should be concerned.

Roslyn Cumming, development manager at Brake believes the report confirms “the devastating effects of drunk driving. I’d urge fleet managers to get. . . expert tips on how to avoid a range of risks to safe driving, including alcohol and drug use.”

One way to reduce risks is to include a GPS tracking system in all fleet vehicles. Although it cannot stop a driver from drinking on the job or other hazardous driving activities, it will show and record driver behavior, indicating a real-time occurrence of an incident and the driver actions just prior and after it happened. Establishing corporate procedures, including a GPS tracking system that monitors drivers’ behaviors, may help mitigate associated risks.

Source: HR Magazine. Photo: MakeTheList.net