Accident preventability evaluations are meant to help drivers avoid trucking accidents, which affect a company’s bottom line. By evaluating a driver’s practical knowledge about accidents–and how to avoid them–trucking companies can benefit with fewer delayed shipments, less damage to vehicles and cargo, and, of course, fewer employee injuries. Safety matters, and accident preventability evaluations cover a whole bunch of topics related to trucking safety.
Smart truckers are safer truckers. They need to be trained regarding common road hazards–and how to avoid them. Defensive driving techniques come in handy for many truckers, as they need to do evasive action options, look for escape routes, and anticipate what other drivers on the road may do. It is a point of pride for a trucker to do well on accident preventability evaluations, showing other truckers that he or she is doing their job well. A trucker who is continually causing accidents won’t be a trucker for long.
In order to prevent accidents, several things can be evaluated. Does the trucker use his or her mirrors properly? Does he or she understand the effects of black ice? Does the trucker know and take to heart the importance of leaving a “safety gap” around their vehicle and how to deal with “no zones”’ or blind spots?
Accident preventability evaluations are like school tests to make sure truckers know–and follow–the rules of the road and then some. Since most trucks are big and heavy and long, truckers need to essentially set the best example of following safety standards on the roads and highways of America in order to prevent as many accidents as possible.