If you drive trucks for a living you’ll know that it’s of paramount importance to stay safe while you’re on the road. As the driver, you are responsible for the vehicle’s safety and being safe will protect you and the goods you are carrying. The better you drive, the fewer accidents you are likely to have, which will help keep your insurance premiums low.
However, it’s worth reminding yourself about a few of the basic safety rules, as years on the road can breed complacency.
Regular maintenance
It’s really important to keep your vehicle in good condition – so you’re less likely to experience problems when out on the road. Since you did your training, how much has truck technology changed? For example, you may have trained with a diesel HGV and now be driving a Honda hybrid. Different engines require different kinds of maintenance, so keep up to date on how to look after the one you’re driving.
Buckle up
Although it’s as automatic a gesture as turning the key in the ignition, some drivers do forget to fasten their seatbelts. Many injuries and deaths on the road could be avoided simply through the proper use of seatbelts.
Switch off
No, don’t start daydreaming – keep your eyes and thoughts on the road. Do switch off mobile phones so you’re not tempted to text, make or answer a call. Avoid any distractions while driving. If you have to use your phone while driving, make sure it’s a hands-free one and keep the conversation to a minimum.
Watch out
Make full use of your mirrors to make sure you don’t miss anything behind or to either side of you as you’re going along. You could also install a rear view camera that allows you to see what’s going on behind your truck. These are relatively cheap and are easy to use.
Keep your distance
Always remember that trucks take longer to stop than cars. Allow plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front to make sure you have time to stop if you need to.
Remembering to use these basic safety rules will help make you a better driver. You can also ensure that you’re a more environmentally sound driver by driving at a steady pace, without any aggressive acceleration or sudden braking. In the same way as with low emission vehicles such as Honda cars, if you drive your truck at a steady pace, your engine will produce fewer harmful emissions.
Tips for safer trucking
Insurance for new transport businesses
If you’re just starting out in the transport business – or thinking about doing so – you really need to have a good long think about your insurance needs and options.
First – do your research. Do as much research into your insurance as you would in considering new car offers, or choice of truck/s.
There simply is no ‘one size fits all’ insurance approach. In practice, everyone’s insurance needs are different.
A good insurer will speak to you in detail about your business needs and potential liabilities. Any insurer who doesn’t do so should be treated with a little healthy cynicism.
Truck insurance is a more complicated and specialised field than car insurance. Before making its recommendations, the insurance company needs to understand your business to then ascertain your specific needs.
The cover you’ll need depends on many different factors including your own circumstances, the type of transport work you do or are planning to do, the type(s) of vehicle(s) you operate, the nature of the goods you’ll be carrying and whether you are a sole trader or employ other drivers.
As an overall guide you are likely to need basic vehicle insurance which includes trailer cover if necessary, goods in transit insurance, public liability insurance, employers’ liability insurance (if you employ anyone), and legal expenses cover.
You may also be well advised to think about accident and sickness cover, vehicle breakdown cover, specialist insurance for hybrid vehicles, insurance for loss of use and continental medical expenses cover if you need to drive overseas.
As you can see, it’s potentially a complex business and it’s often best to put all the insurance under one roof with a truck and lorry insurance specialist who fully understands your unique needs. No two sets of insurance requirements for transport companies are the same.
Tips on choosing and using truck insurance
Shopping around for truck insurance is not something you want to do at the end of a busy week. Yet it’s essential that people get the right kind of cover for their vehicles, be it their work truck or their family or 4×4 cars.
As with most things in life these days, a lot of the search time has been reduced by the numerous websites who will do the comparison between insurers on your behalf. You only need to put in all those long and lengthy details once, and with a click of a button all the searches are done for you.
However, it may be worth doing a little bit more of the legwork yourself, as not all insurers are checked by every comparison website. You may find a better deal this way, and once you’ve got all the information together for an initial search, at least you’ll have it at your fingertips for any other calls or searches you make separately.
If you do need to make a claim on your truck insurance, it’s much the same process as people go through making claims for family cars.
1. Call the police, or go and get a police report as soon as possible after the incident.
2. Call your insurance agent immediately and be as honest and detailed as you can on all the facts.
3. Take photos of the vehicles involved. These can be used as evidence.
4. Get a witness to give you their contact details, and agree to be contacted by your insurance agency.
5. Once the claim has been processed, make sure you are happy with the amount the insurance agency offers before you agree to settle. Any delayed complaint is less likely to be resolved in your favour.
6. Remember, each claim you make is likely to push up your premiums, so if the damage is minor, think about paying for the repairs directly, not through your insurance.
Safe lorry driving brings down insurance costs
Driving safely on the roads and being able to prove it is an important way in which fleet operators can minimise the costs of their truck insurance.
Safety is, of course, the paramount concern of the transport industry.
Currently, around 8% of road traffic accidents involve trucks and lorries, but they are responsible for over a quarter of all casualties. Clearly, this is due to their sheer size and weight. The number means that somewhere in the region of 20,000 people are injured in a lorry accident in the UK each year.
Many accidents occur when drivers hit a lorry from behind as they were driving too close to stop their vehicle in time.
Others happen when a lorry pulls out in front of another vehicle on the motorway, whilst a jaknifed lorry can cause fatalities and major hold-ups.
Road safety is important for its own sake, of course. But insurance is also a major cost. And it looks like becoming even more important if Government proposals to increase the size of lorries get the green light.
Recent Government research suggests that lengthening the lorries is “not expected to result in a noticeable increase in road traffic accidents. Although the risk per vehicle may be marginally higher, the reduction in the number of vehicle movements means that the overall number of HGV accidents is expected to fall.”
But insurance costs may still rise in the same way that 4×4 cars are more costly to insure than saloon or estate family cars due to the increased damage they tend to cause to their surroundings given their larger size and increased weight.
So truck safety and safety policies look like becoming even more important. Regularly reviewing driver safety and regular training will help ensure drivers are reminded of the paramount importance of safety and ensure they are up-to-date with recent safety rules and suggestions. Such action will also cut the insurance bill.
Manufacturing duo pair up to develop hybrid truck technology
Manufacturing giants Toyota and Ford have announced joint plans to develop a hybrid powertrain for light trucks and SUVs, which will make hybrid technology possible for a wider range of vehicles.
While hybrid technology for trucks is not new, it is still limited in comparison with developments in the car industry. Volvo only launched the first HGV to run on a combination of diesel and electric power in 2008.
Toyota and Ford have decided to work together as it will mean a sharing of development costs and accelerate the process. Both companies are leaders in fuel economy, and environmental sustainability issues are high on their joint agenda.
The hybrid powertrain in development will be for rear-wheel vehicles and will be introduced over the next ten years. Hybrid vehicles are propelled by an electric motor and a petrol or diesel engine. Manufacturers are also expected to improve efficiency by incorporating stop-start technology. Stop-start systems increase fuel economy by switching off the engine when the vehicle is idling in traffic or comes to a halt. All in-vehicle electronics remain ‘on’ as they are powered by a small battery. Once the brake is released, the stop-start system automatically starts the engine again. As well as saving on fuel, this system reduces the emissions produced by a vehicle.
There are several advantages to driving a hybrid. Apart from the obvious savings in fuel consumption and production of fewer emissions, for trucks one of the main benefits is the reduction in noise. As with all low emission cars, hybrids qualify for lower road tax and there are good deals available for insurance. It’s still a question of searching around though, as there are still sharp variations on hybrid premiums depending on which insurer you contact.
The green future of HGVs
While there’s always a lot of news about new low emission cars on the market, it’s less common to read about the latest developments in technology which are making HGVs greener vehicles.
Since HGVs are on the go so much, it’s vital for them to be as fuel efficient and eco friendly as possible. The freight industry is responsible for around five per cent of the CO2 emissions in the UK, which is why it is so vital for those in the sector to try and make vehicles more environmentally friendly.
Preventing climate change is a key issue in the country, and around the world, at the moment, which makes it even more important for the freight sector to try and lower the emissions it produces.
One way of doing this is by introducing hybrid vehicles where possible. Hybrid models tend to be more fuel efficient, reducing energy consumption and emissions.
Low-carbon technologies are in existence in the freight industry and operators are increasingly on the hunt for more eco-friendly solutions when transporting goods around the UK.
As well as technologies helping to lower the sector’s environmental impact, drivers and fleet operators have a key role to play in carbon emissions reduction.
HGV drivers are increasingly being trained to be aware of their emissions output, with slower braking, more frequent gear changes and checking a vehicle has correct tyre pressures all important things which can help to reduce carbon emissions caused by the freight industry.
Companies up and down the country are realising the benefits of greening their fleet. Not only are there obvious advantages in terms of combating climate change and protecting the environment, but there are also monetary gains to be made, with those which are greening their operations most effectively likely to make the most savings.