Accident Prevention

In a fleet, accident prevention is the process that identifies the causes of road accidents. It puts measures in place to eliminate or reduce them. It starts from the risk assessment recorded in the single risk assessment document (document unique), and is managed with accident-rate indicators.

Why build a structured prevention plan?

Prevention is the hands-on side of risk management. It tackles the identified causes of accidents, whether they lie with the driver, the vehicle or the way work is organized.

The stakes are human first. According to INRS (in French), France's occupational health and safety institute, road accidents cause more than 30% of fatal workplace accidents once commuting accidents are included. In 2023, 144 people were killed on work trips in France, including 41 in heavy trucks and 40 in light commercial vehicles, according to the French road safety observatory (ONISR). This count only covers deaths where the purpose of the trip is known.

The stakes are also legal and financial. If the employer has committed inexcusable fault (faute inexcusable), compensation is increased and the social security fund can recover it from the employer (Article L. 452-1 of the French Social Security Code, as explained by INRS). Each claim also affects vehicle availability and your relationship with the insurer.

What are the steps in a prevention plan?

INRS describes a prevention approach that starts with an assessment and leads to an action plan. Applied to a fleet, it comes down to five steps.

1. Assess: list drivers, vehicles, trips and scheduling constraints. Record the results in the single risk assessment document.
2. Analyze your accident record: classify past accidents by type, location, time of day and vehicle to spot recurring causes.
3. Prioritize: deal first with the most frequent or most serious situations.
4. Act: on travel, vehicles, communications and drivers' skills.
5. Measure and review: track the indicators and update the single risk assessment document, at least once a year in companies with 11 or more employees (Service-public.fr, in French).

INRS stresses one point: involve the employees who are exposed. A plan built with drivers is better understood and better applied.

Which indicators should you track to measure your accident rate?

Official workplace accident indicators are calculated using the formulas published by INRS. Fleet indicators, on the other hand, are built from your own data.

Indicator	How to calculate it	What it's for
Frequency index (IF)	Accidents with a first compensation payment (en premier règlement) ÷ number of employees × 1,000 (INRS)	Compare how often workplace accidents happen from one year to the next.
Frequency rate (TF)	Accidents with a first compensation payment ÷ hours worked × 1,000,000 (INRS)	Neutralize differences in working time between teams.
Severity rate (TG)	Days lost to temporary incapacity ÷ hours worked × 1,000 (INRS)	Measure severity, not just the number of accidents.
Claims per vehicle	Number of claims over the period ÷ number of vehicles in the fleet	Spot the most exposed sites, models or uses.
Share of at-fault claims	At-fault claims ÷ total claims	Separate what comes down to driving from what comes down to third parties.
Offenses per driver	Traffic tickets with a designated driver ÷ number of drivers	Focus support on risky behavior.
Due dates met	Servicing and inspections done on time ÷ due dates in the period	Check that vehicle condition doesn't become a cause of accidents.

Which concrete measures get results?

Effective measures combine several levers. None of them is enough on its own.

• Train and support drivers: defensive driving, hazard perception, fatigue and distraction. Driver coaching is based on observed facts.
• Set rules for phone use: according to INRS, using a phone while driving triples the risk of an accident. Set a rule that calls are made only when stopped.
• Maintain vehicles: INRS recommends a designated person in charge, scheduled servicing and a logbook for each vehicle. Preventive maintenance limits tire and brake failures.
• Equip vehicles: check for the mandatory equipment listed by INRS: ABS, electronic stability control (ESP), tire pressure monitoring and the eCall emergency call system. Also consider driver assistance systems.
• Organize routes: plan realistically, limit driving times and respect rest periods.
• Put the rules in writing: phone use, seat belts, pre-departure inspection, what to do after an accident.

On the human side, read our article on driver safety. See also our definition of workplace road safety.

How Dadycar helps

Dadycar gives your prevention plan its core data. The claims and fines module keeps a history of every accident, and the traffic offenses module centralizes notices from ANTAI, France's automated traffic enforcement agency, and parking charges (FPS). The dashboard has dedicated views for claims and compliance.

Inspections and condition reports document vehicle condition. Maintenance plans and due-date reminders make sure no servicing or inspection slips through the cracks. Driver's licenses are stored in the documents module.

With the Fleet + Telematics plan, vehicle alerts with adjustable thresholds flag deviations. Donna, the AI agent, audits claims, fines and compliance, among other areas. Data is hosted in France, with OVHcloud.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between prevention and insurance?

Insurance pays out after the claim. Prevention acts beforehand, on the frequency and severity of accidents. A documented accident history also informs your discussions with your fleet insurer.

Which indicator should you track first?

Start with the number of claims per vehicle, tracked monthly and by site. You can calculate it from your own data. Then add the frequency rate for workplace accidents, using the INRS formula.

Who runs the prevention plan?

The employer is responsible for it, under its duty of safety (Article L. 4121-1 of the French Labor Code, or Code du travail), as INRS explains. In practice, the fleet manager runs it with HR and the health and safety function, involving drivers.