Great West Casualty Company Blog

Implementing an effective risk control technique requires advance analysis and planning. No one wants to expend resources on a solution that may look good on paper, but once implemented, fails to address the intended risk properly.   As you can see in the graphic below, eliminating hazards that increase the risk of a loss is the most effective risk control technique. Eliminating a hazard could be as simple as changing a driver’s route to avoid a specific hazard or removing a defective piece of equipment from the shop.

All motor carriers share one thing in common: managing risk, a task that is key to profitability. Regardless of fleet size, every motor carrier strives to minimize the risks that can lead to financial losses. For those new to risk management, the concepts and techniques used may feel overwhelming, even confusing. That’s okay.   To help you ease into this world, review the graphic below; it demonstrates a five-step risk management process. Keep in mind, this example is not intended to be all-inclusive, and you may choose to expand your own process beyond five steps. This example is simply for educational purposes but spotlights a common risk all motor carriers face: rear-end crashes.

  Source: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance   The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week is scheduled for August 21-27, 2022. Enforcement officials will inspect commercial motor vehicles throughout the week. Vehicles found to have critical out-of-service brake violations, or other critical vehicle out-of-service inspection item violations, will be restricted from traveling until those violations are corrected. Vehicles that pass eligible inspections may receive a CVSA Password-Inspection decal.

WHAT ARE LOSS EXPOSURES?  There are several key risk management terms to understand when it comes to loss exposures. “Loss exposures are the possibilities of accidental losses with measurable financial consequences," according to Warren T. Hope, author of Introduction to Risk Management. There are four types of loss exposures that motor carriers must account for: property, liability, personnel, and net income.   Below is a summary of each type of loss exposure.

Many trucking companies have a shop on the premises, where they repair trucks they own and provide repair services for others. When equipment that is not owned by the trucking company is damaged on the premises, who is responsible?

WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MY COMPANY FROM CYBERATTACKS?

  Each year, pedestrians are struck and killed by motor vehicles due to distracted walking. Additionally, work-related injuries and fatalities caused by employees not paying attention to where they are walking have caused workers compensation costs and out-of-pocket expenses for employees to skyrocket. Incidents involving distracted walking are 100 percent preventable. Read the information below about the three types of distractions and what you can do to protect yourself.

      Cargo theft continues to plague the transportation industry, and this year has seen theft activity over 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels. It may seem like cargo theft is a victimless crime, but it affects all of us because manufacturers price their goods to include a theft component.   While it is difficult to tally the amount of loss attributed to cargo thefts annually, the National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates cargo theft costs up to $35 billion dollars per year. Thefts typically increase around the holidays. 

  A fire can be a devastating financial event for a trucking company or a driver. Modern trucks and trailers are manufactured to be as light as possible, which means they are constructed using a variety of potentially dangerous materials; that construction can become extremely hazardous should a fire occur. The dangers of today’s truck fires include extreme heat, rapidly spreading flames, and potentially toxic fumes.

Are your safety meetings effective? The traditional instructor-led approach involves one person standing in front of a group of drivers, telling them what they think the drivers need to know. This delivery method may work in some cases, like explaining a new regulation, but it is less effective when trying to change behavior (ex. prevent a rear-end crash). In reality, each worker has a learning preference. Some learn best by doing, while others may prefer online, self-paced learning. Attempting a one-size-fits-all approach to safety training could be the reason your training efforts are unsuccessful and not achieving your desired results. To improve your results, consider using a blended-learning approach to reach a broader range of learning styles.