Driver Improvement: the Bottom Line

• Training Makes a Difference
• Benefits of Computer Based Learning
• What's in it for you?

In 1995, there were 241,800 persons injured in 166,950 collisions. While this represents a lower rate than in the 1970s and 1980s, the cost per collision has gone up. Insurance Bureau of Canada reports show the average cost er claim for private passenger vehicles went from about $1,100 in 1980 to $2,774 in 1995. Between 1991 and 1995, the cost per claim rose by nine per cent. Rising costs to repair property damage, coupled with liability, are reflected in insurance rates. If you have a collision you could end up paying a much higher insurance rate.

The Cost of Collisions

If you have company vehicles, you will have collisions.

For an individual or small business (fewer than 10 vehicles), the benefits of a driver improvement program are hard to quantify unless a crash actually occurs. Typically, the deductible for a small fleet is $5,000 to $10,000. That comes straight from the bottom line when a collision happens.

Larger fleets track the frequency and cost of collisions. This permits them to assess the impact of training programs. For instance, a major oil company implemented the Canada Safety Council Professional Driver Improvement Course with some of its drivers in 1990. The total cost of preventable collisions among those who took the course had dropped by over 50 per cent by 1993. The number of preventable collisions fell more than 30 per cent. For the control group (those who did not take training), the number of collisions remained constant, while total costs went down about nine per cent.

Driver training can help reduce your company's medical and vehicle insurance costs. But the direct cost of collisions is only the tip of the iceberg. Indirect costs, often hidden, are also incurred. These include lost time and productivity, hiring and training a replacement, and property damage.

Today, due diligence is as important a consideration as cost control. New occupational health and safety regulations hold companies accountable if their employees are injured when conducting job-related duties for which they have not been trained.

Training Makes a Difference

Recent studies in Canada and the U.S. confirm that driver improvement programs work. As a preventive measure, they help drivers avoid collisions, and as a remedial program for minor traffic violators they reduce the probability of further offenses.

• Defensive Driving Course students showed a marked improvement in their attitudes regarding traffic safety.
• In one study, drivers over age 29 who took the course showed a 25 per cent reduction in traffic offenses. A separate group of graduates who had to take the course because of minor traffic violations showed a similar 25 per cent reduction after taking the program.
• Other studies have shown a 22 per cent lower collision rate after the course, and a 57 per cent reduction in the rate of convictions for those who took the program voluntarily.

Benefits of Computer Based Learning

The Canada Safety Council's Defensive Driving Course (DDC) is based on proven principles of adult education. It teaches drivers how to prevent a collision. DDC has been in place for 30 years as an instructor-led program. Now the entire six-hour course is available as computer based training in both French and English. The computer based version offers these advantages:

• Reduces learning time while increasing retention.
• Motivates trainees through individualization and immediate feedback.
• Cuts the cost of travel, per diems and learning materials.
• Enables trainees to learn at their own pace and at off-peak hours.
• For smaller companies and new employees, individuals can train on an as-need basis.

The network version, customized to company requirements, is designed for large corporations. There is a work station version for smaller companies. Both of these formats include an administration component to track employee participation, as required by occupational safety regulations. For individuals, families or businesses with fewer than 10 vehicles, a CD-ROM version is available.

What's in it for you?

Safe driving is a bottom line issue. For employees who have a company car or who drive their own vehicle on the job, safe driving is a matter of occupational safety. However, an estimated nine out of 10 time-loss injuries happen off the job : not counting employees who take time off to care for an injured family member.

Fewer collisions to company vehicles mean lower insurance costs, and safe drivers lose less time from work because they avoid collisions. That is why a defensive driving course can benefit all employees (and family members) who have a driver's license.

Above all, safe driving is a bottom line issue for you personally. It may well be "the other guy" who causes the collision. Nonetheless, it's not always the guilty driver who suffers the death, injury, financial loss or inconvenience. Even if you are absolutely blameless, you can suffer : and so can your passengers : as though you had been at fault.

Being in the right will not save you from a crash. You must be prepared for the unsafe actions of other motorists or for poor driving conditions. A driver improvement program will show you how to protect yourself and your loved ones by driving defensively.

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