In risk management, what you don’t know won’t hurt you?

I read with interest that fleets could be held liable if they don’t act upon high risk data produced by the telematics devices they have installed in their vehicles. The theory is that if those high risk drivers are involved in a serious incident after the fleet had been made aware of the risk, the fleet could be guilty of wilful blindness.

Wilful blindness is a term used in law to describe when an individual seeks to avoid civil or criminal liability for a wrongful act by intentionally putting himself in a position where he will be unaware of facts that would render him liable.  In other words, you will be liable if you deliberately ignore the facts available to you.

The implications of this are clearly concerning for the telematics industry but don’t have to be so worrying for the fleet.  The real question it throws up is not concerning which driver did what, how often, where and how badly. The real question for fleets is what do we do about it?

In simple terms fleets have just a few options:

1.     Stop the driver from driving – which may not be practical

2.     Ignore the risk – and suffer the potential threat of wilful blindness

3.     Implement disincentive schemes – but such action may send repairs ‘underground’!

4.     Change the drivers’ skills, habits and on-road behaviour – a supportive approach

Clearly the last of these options represents the most positive and appealing one.  However, it is also the one that entails a financial commitment, some strategic planning, a consistent approach, record –keeping, support from on high and some close monitoring.

The upside is that by choosing the supportive approach a fleet will become fully aware of its risks and be able to demonstrate a duty of care, it will experience a better claims record, insurance costs will come down and safety becomes second nature and part of the driving culture. Wilful blindness won’t be possible and won’t be a threat.

One of the additional reasons fleets may choose to turn a blind eye to poor risk data is because they may know what to do about it but don’t have the time or resource to implement it. This is where the outsourced risk management industry should be able to lend a hand in planning a program that is fit-for-purpose in terms of available budget and program objectives.

At RVM we build tailored risk management programs for fleets based on what priorities the fleet has identified.  They range from the very simple to the most complex depending on fleet profile, what needs outsourcing and at what stage of the risk journey the fleet is currently at. One thing is for sure, if a fleet chooses to invest in the supportive approach, it will want a positive and tangible benefit in return and this is why, at RVM, our efforts are designed to uncover opportunities to improve as opposed to ignoring issues that may come back to bite you.

So don’t choose to ignore bad risks and hope lady luck is on your side. Choose to learn more about what options are open to you and at what cost by calling RVM Fleet Services on 01132248898 or contact us here.