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Your Premium Depends on YOU

26th February 1960, Page 160
26th February 1960
Page 160
Page 161
Page 160, 26th February 1960 — Your Premium Depends on YOU
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

WITH a-further general rise in insurance premiums apparently imminent, it becomes increasingly necessary for commercial-vehicle operators to do everything possible to reduce accidents and the cost of claims if they are to keep their fleet premiums to a minimum. Premiums for fleets comprising 10 or more vehicles, or not fewer than five coaches or A-licence vehicles, fall broadly into the three following kinds:—

(1) Standard rates according to the insurers' scale.

(2) Standard rates less a fleet discount when the claims experience over the past three years has been better than average.

(3) Standard rates plus a percen tage loading when the recent claims experience has been below average.

Sometimes insurers of sub-standard risks impose a compulsory excess which invariably raises the fleet operator's annual outlay above scale premiums. It follows, therefore, that an improvement in claims experience will reflect itself in lower insurance rates and vice versa.

Although a fleet owner can do nothing to prevent accidents which result from outside influences, he can certainly take action as regards his own drivers and vehicles, and improve his accident record in that way.

The best motor insurance risks are those in which the turnover of drivers is lowest. Although incentive and safe-driving schemes tend to produce an increase in the number of " founddamaged " accidents, they are benefi

c14 cial in promoting the driver's interest, and help to retain the services of good men. In any event, suitable action can generally be taken against any driver whose vehicle is mysteriously found to be damaged.

Theoretically, at least, benefits should accrue in sending all candidates for driving jobs to a driving school for an expert report. This practice is particularly useful when the conditions of employment and wages are such that drivers, once engaged, have little incentive to leave.

I know of a concern which has a rigid rule of employing only men over 30 years of age. This may seem rather drastic, but the company is convinced that this has been the principal reason for a remarkable improvement in the fleet claims record.

Insufficient Sleep Some of the drivers start work at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. and much of the unfortunate record in past days arose from serious accidents during the early turn. In each of these cases the driver was in his 'teens or twenties, and everything pointed to lack of concentration as a result of insufficient sleep. Older men are generally more stable and are more likely to take a proper night's rest before going on duty.

This raises the general question of fatigue, which may be a cause of accidents. Indeed, it has been suggested that, because of the serious trend in accidents throughout the country, the maximum legal hours of driving a commercial vehicle should be reduced from 11 to 10 per day. With the daily increase in the number of vehicles on the road and a heightening of tension in drivers, it is imperative to keep a strict check on hours of work.

A careful watch must also be maintained on the man who, for various reasons, completes his journey in less than a reasonable time.

Driver-salesmen sometimes present a problem which militates against efforts to improve the accident rate. it occurs when the employee is an excellent salesman, but a poor driver. Sales are all-important to most boards of directors and few managements would be willing to dismiss a good salesman who had a bad accident record, or go to the expense of supplying him with a chauffeur.

This situation reminds me of a cricket team which had a splendid batsman who regularly knocked up half a century and on occasions reached three figures. Unfortunately, he was atrocious in the field, and no matter where the skipper tried to hide him, he generally dropped catches and let through boundaries which he should have cut off. It was not until he himself was dropped that the team began to win games.

I commend the practice of' some of the larger operators of providing newly recruited drivers with copies of a booklet containing guidance on safe driving and general instructions. The driver is thus told exactly what is expected of him and the onus of carrying out the rules is thrown upon him. He can never say he did not know.

In relatively large aganizations the appointment of a road safety officer is a sure guarantee of a reduction in accidents. It is a full-time specialist's job and is not, as many concerns assume, a task for the transport manager in his spare time.

The operator can also help to reduce accidents by ensuring that before taking out a vehicle the driver checks not only fuel, oil, water, tyre pressures and lights, but also the less obvious items, such as the angle of driving mirrors, and the efficiency of windscreen wipers and horns. How many drivers return to their depot if they find that the brakes are slack, or there is excessive play in the steering?

Most accidents occur in reversing, pulling away from the kerb or turning at road junctions. Fortunately, although numerous, the results of accidents when reversing are normally slight, because the speed is low.

Some concerns insist that, when reversing in a yard, the driver must have an assistant to guide him. Most vehicles, however, do not carry mates, and when away from the depot, the driver in reversing has normally to rely on his mirrors or a backward look. Mirrors give the driver a limited view along the sides of the vehicle, and normally do not reveal the car which has pulled up immediately behind, or warn the driver of the child who has stepped off the pavement behind one of the wheels. Much can be done, • however, to improve rearward vision by fitting an underfloor mirror.

The possibility of accidents whenturning is reduced if two winking indicators are fitted on each side of the vehicle, one beside the cab and one at the rear. This provision is doubly desirable on long vehicles—on which, incidentally, the fitting of reflectors along the sides can afford a useful warning to other road users.

Useless Signals

Hand signals at night are practically useless, and are little better in daytime. If a driver can give unmistakable notice of his intentions by means of indicators, he is relieved of the necessity to take a hand off the steering wheel at a time when it needs to be there.

Windscreen washers on commercial vehicles should also be far more common.

Insurers pay out large sums for loss or damage caused by fire or theft. Such payments do not in themselves label an operator a bad risk, but they swell claims materially, and, once again. prevention 'is better than cure. The provision of a fire extinguisher on each vehicle would be prudent, but it must, of course, be properly main tained. Similarly, the possibility of theft can be reduced by fitting a proprietary anti-theft device.

Operators may suggest that in the long run it would be cheaper, rather than, to go to the expense of the measures I have suggested, to continue to take a chance and to pay higher• premiums than would be required if their claims experience were better. They may be right. On the other hand, the measures I have suggested will certainly reduce the number of accidents and in that way reduce the cost of claims.

All things being equal, insurance terms should be reduced. In addition, there will be a big saving in time, money, materials and, not least, inconvenience, which at present constitute an unnecessary drain on resources whenever preventable accidents occur.

I have touched only on the financial side of road accidents in relation to insurance. It goes without saying that the moral aspect is the more important.

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