When you are in charge of logistical planning for drivers shipping goods all across the country, chances are you have already run into issues with some drivers being unable to make their deliveries on time. Even if your drivers are all fully committed to staying on schedule, there are so many issues that can come up when they are on the road that can easily prevent them from meeting their goals.
The good news is that there are a number of steps that you can take and processes that you can implement in order to help avoid such problems occurring. While there is no way to prevent every single delay that can happen, reducing risk and cutting down on potential delays is one of the best approaches you can take.
Here are just a few of the ways in which you can help your drivers stay on schedule when they are on the road.
Bypass Weigh Stations Legally
There is no doubt about the fact that weigh stations play an important role in regulating the shipping of goods on the open road and in keeping drivers safe. However, if your driver’s route has a higher-than-usual number of weigh stations included on it, you might be looking at some serious delays. This is especially true if you are shipping during a particularly busy time of the year when the lines at such weigh stations are bound to be longer than normal.
You might not have realized before, but there are some legal ways in which your driver can bypass weigh stations without getting into trouble. Legal weigh station bypass can be obtained through the use of certain software that can alert a weigh station of the approach of a driver who they can then choose to wave through, so to speak, based on the carrier’s safety score.
Service Trucks Regularly
Another problem that can result in massive delays when on the road is a breakdown. While there is no actual way of guaranteeing that your trucks will never break down or that accidents will never happen, you can reduce the likelihood of a breakdown occurring by ramping up servicing on your trucks. By ensuring that you service your trucks on a regular basis, you can hopefully catch any issues that can arise from regular use and fix them before your carrier hits the road.
Educate Your Drivers
One of the most valuable tools that you have at your disposal when it comes to making sure that your drivers are able to stick to their schedules is education. By equipping your drivers with the knowledge and training that they need in order to stay on schedule, you can not only help them to reach their destinations on time, but you can also help them become better, safer drivers. When risk management is the name of the game, your drivers need to be aware of the best practices to follow when out on the road.
