Over ten years ago, I was hired to set up a fleet. My first task was to screen and hire a core group of 20 drivers.

I won’t lie. It took longer than expected to build that team, even though we offered reasonable pay and realistic run times.

I had always placed high expectations on myself during my trucking career, and this was an opportunity to surround myself with drivers who approached our profession in the same way — with great expectations.

I insisted on proper orientation as well as a host of other fleet safety measures. The end result was a team that, in a few short years, ran over 20 million miles accident-free.

Since that job, I’ve evaluated fleet safety — and I am still surprised when I see carriers struggling with the basics. It boils down to this:

You cannot expect to achieve positive fleet safety results without an effective plan. Well-run fleets don’t “wing it” or make it up as they go along. With a plan, these companies essentially plan for success.

For example, there are fleets with poor or no driver-screening procedures and little (if any) minimum hiring standards. What level of safety can such companies reasonably expect to achieve when they run the chance of hiring drivers with poor driving histories and multiple moving violations?

While a lack of a plan does not necessarily mean that you will hire high-risk drivers, you shouldn’t be surprised when one of those drivers is involved in multiple losses for your company. In this way, the results are indeed predictable.

Setting and enforcing higher standards is essential if you want a winning team of drivers. How? Do your due diligence and review a candidate’s current driver abstract. As well, don’t forget to really thoroughly check references.

f the abstract and references look good, have the candidate complete a pre-hire evaluation ride. Use a qualified driver evaluator to perform this critical screening function.

Don’t settle for poor drivers, and don’t allow operational pressures to divert you away from minimum hiring standards.

A plan to improve fleet safety ratings should also include a strategy for good fleet administration. Maintain up-to-date incident records, which can help you determine your most common accident types. Armed with this information, you can seek appropriate training. The results can be immediate: improved safety ratings and financial returns in the form of fewer losses.

Embrace technology. This doesn’t mean adopting every new gadget on the market. It means finding solutions that address your challenges.

One of my favorites is the “backing camera”. In my experience, a large percentage of all fleet incidents involve backing and a device designed to aid drivers when backing up can help reduce the incidents. I know from personal experience this technology works.

The system hardware is reliable, and the results are immediate. Its price has come down drastically in the last two years-a camera system today can be purchased for as little as $300 per unit plus installation.

I managed a fleet that averaged 2.3 backing incidents per month over a two-year period. With backing cameras installed, this fleet operated for almost eight months before it experienced its next backing incident.

If an effective, forward-looking (and backward-looking) plan is implemented properly, chances are that positive results will follow. However, without such a plan, you shouldn’t be surprised if you experience unexpected negative results.

Do you pay your drivers poorly? The quality of the drivers you recruit — or lack thereof — should make your fleet safety ratings reasonably easy to predict.

Do you administer your hours of service processes vigilantly? If not, the results are predictable.

Do you pay your drivers by the mile? If so, they’re probably running harder and longer than they should. The results in this case are indeed predictable.

You can plan for and predict positive — and negative — safety results.