One of the key drivers in obtaining cheap van insurance is a reduction in your our your fleet’s accident rate. If you make a claim, even if you have protected your no claims bonus, your next van insurance quote will be higher for the same level of cover.
One of the ways you can drastically cut down on the number of accidents you’re involved in is by improving the driver hazard perception skills; even if you’re in a collision that’s not your fault, there is the inevitable loss of output or man hours and the off-road time whilst any assessment and reparation of the vehicle from the other driver’s insurance is undertaken.
E-Training World is one such company that have studied the most elementary signs of hazard that are often the cause of avoidable accidents; they really are the infuriating ones for fleet managers who have one eye on driver safety and overall health and safety standards for the company and the other on the budget set for an organisation’s transport. Every single van insurance claim will pass through their department in an attempt to gauge expenditure and budget for the next quarter.
However, with the additional skills learnt in hazard perception they can seriously cut down on the number of accidents, thus the amount of off-road time and nip any rises in van insurance premiums in the bud before they happen.
Graham Hurdle explained in a recent interview that spotting even the most common objects can be a warning of a hazard ahead. The lookouts he stated for ensuring ‘hazard avoidance’, skills not necessary taught to fleet drivers he suggests, are signs like wheelie bins or gathering of black bags at the roadside – a sure sign that a refuse wagon is making its rounds. Horse manure in the road was another hazard cited – not a slip hazard, but possibly the sign that horse riders were in the vicinity. And concentrated groups of children in uniform are a sure-fire warning that you’re approaching a school and so should driver with additional care.
These incidents may very well not be sign posted, but if a driver knows the signs, they can prevent an unnecessary van insurance claim, a road traffic accident or, even more critically, injury to others. More information on E-training world and their ethos in the next article.