In our June Newsletter I announced that our Mobile Unit was finally in operation! Our main objective for having a Mobile Unit is so we can provide on-site training for company employees that need to develop better defensive driving skills. We are not in the CDL business. Our focus is agencies and companies that have employees that drive company vehicles as part of their job. For example, we have worked with several companies that have technicians driving vans loaded with equipment.

A dilemma many companies are running into these days is employing younger individuals and they are driving company vehicles. What steps does your company take to ensure that the employee is a qualified driver? Have you ever heard of “Negligent Entrustment?”

Negligent Entrustment could put your company in bankruptcy if that employee is involved in a fatal collision.   The trend in recent years is for teens to defer obtaining their license until past the Graduated Driver License restrictions that usually end at age 18.  Do you check how long the candidate has been licensed?  The danger of hiring younger individuals is that they were able to become licensed with no formal training, no supervised driving which means little to no practice period.  In the state of Arizona it is theoretically possible to obtain a full license in just ONE day.  The individual you are hiring may have little or no formal driver training,  no actual experience with the type of vehicle they will be driving and very limited exposure to hazardous situations.  The latest Arizona statistics show that inexperienced drivers are getting into more serious collisions.  The fatality rate for the 19 to 24 year old drivers is going up and the same is generally true across the United States.  Below are some tips to protect your business:

• Pay attention to the candidate’s driving experience, in addition to their technical ability
• Provide formal orientation and training in driving the intended vehicle
• Invest in a good, proven defensive driving course, not just lectures

Becoming a proficient driver requires exposure to hazards that occur randomly while driving, unusual events happen only once in a while.  A driver with some formal training will remain a novice driver for at least 5 years under normal circumstances.  Since DrivingMBA has simulation technology, we can provide training in prevention and recovery techniques that are best absorbed by experiential learning.  If you are a small business owner and you have individuals that are driving company or agency vehicles, contact us for a demonstration of what we can do for you.  480-948-1648.  It might be the most important phone call you make this year.