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In the landscaping industry, there are only two seasons: work and winter. If you’re located in the north, you can likely transition your team over to snow removal jobs. While in the south, you may be able to keep projects moving for much longer.
Either way, the winter season will throw some challenging weather your way. Not only does it make your jobs more challenging, it makes getting to those jobs more challenging.
For employees operating your company vehicles, driving in snow, ice, rain, fog or wind can create dangerous situations. If an employee is operating recklessly for weather conditions, you need to know about it so you can take appropriate action before a serious accident occurs. And if an accident does occur and it was another driver at fault, you need a way to prove your employee’s innocence to avoid significant litigation and insurance costs.
The one simple tool that allows you to accomplish it all is a dash cam system.
Accident Exoneration
With dash cams, exoneration of an innocent driver isn’t merely possible, it’s probable. In fact, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted studies1 that reviewed 6,131 fatal car-truck crashes. They showed that in 2020, the drivers of large commercial vehicles contributed to only 32% of fatal crashes compared to 55% of passenger vehicle drivers in fatal crashes.
Dash cam video clips can be pivotal in proving that your driver was doing the right things at the right time.
Exoneration of even one company driver involved in a crash with significant litigation risk will pay for the minimal investment in dash cams many times over. Additionally, proof of your driver’s innocence prevents you from having to hire and train a new employee. Dash cams level the playing field, defending your landscaping company against wrongful lawsuits.
Absent video evidence, relying on witness testimony is a gamble.
Employee Remediation
The best defense against an on-the-road accident is not having a defense. But with the number of miles traveled to every jobsite and the realities of driving in adverse weather conditions, you simply can’t avoid all accidents. However, you can reduce the chances of an accident by monitoring and correcting risky driving behaviors, including:
- Speeding
- Lane deviation
- Tailgating
- Hard braking
- Rolling stops
- Distracted driving
- Collisions
- Harsh cornering
With video proof, you’re able to provide the appropriate coaching to an employee and document your corrective actions in the event of court litigation. Winter also provides an ideal time to conduct driver training as the workload slows down for the season.
Prepare your landscaping company for on-the-road hazards this winter by investing in a dash cam system that protects you from the cold winds of high risk.
1 FMCSA Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts, September 2022
