by: Karen Bradley
A few weeks ago one of our clients in the construction industry had a company vehicle in a serious accident. The owner of the business called us to get the details of the driver activity that afternoon. As it turns out the employee finished his shift and instead of taking the vehicle home per company rules, he picked up a friend and they stopped for a couple of drinks and a bite to eat. After way too many drinks, he got into his COMPANY truck and drove home. But he didn’t make it home. On his way, he struck another vehicle seriously injuring the passenger in the other car.
Since the incident, that passenger has had more than four surgeries to date and is still in the hospital today. They have hired a personal injury attorney and are going after my client and the now former employee.
The employee was charged with extreme DUI and is facing severe legal charges for his reckless actions.
Since this was in a company vehicle, the owner of the construction company was put into a very tough spot. And if not for the proactive actions put into place by the owner, this one indecent could have jeopardized their entire company.
Thankfully, the owner of the company was fully equipped with the right policies and technologies to protect the business from liability or damages.
They were able to provide the authorities and attorneys with all of the data from their GPS tracking data at the time of the accident. This allowed the owner to:
Additionally, the owner had all of their vehicle and accident policies in writing and signed by the employee, which was a crucial component to protecting the company.
The owner was so thankful for the data that GPS provided that they are now looking to install cameras in all their company trucks as an even greater source of protection.
I would like to say that stories like this aren’t common but they unfortunately happen more than owners would like.
This story is an example of why it’s absolutely critical that you have the right policies, procedures, and technology in your fleets to ensure that your business is protected.
At EcoTrack, we can provide you with turnkey policies and the right equipment to ensure that the actions of your employees don’t jeopardize everything you have built.