Wayne Pohida is the President of LAP RRG. He has spent the vast majority of his life working in the transportation industry. His parents owned and operated a large fleet of taxis, and he started his career in the family business. At the age of 12, he began helping his father maintain vehicles before working as a driver and eventually owning the responsibility of the company’s financial and insurance-related affairs. Wayne Pohida is, without a doubt, an expert in taxi risk management. Below he shares 5 lessons that those new to the livery business often overlook—5 lessons that can easily save you money and perhaps even save your business.
5 Taxi Risk Management Lessons From Wayne Pohida
1. What aspects of taxi risk management do new companies often overlook?
New companies often overlook “keeping an eye on the store.” In other words, owners need to do a thorough job of managing their drivers, which goes a long way toward avoiding accidents.
Drivers should be instructed on how to proceed if there is an accident, such as taking photos and calling the police. I’ve seen far too many new companies assume that this is common sense knowledge, but that’s not always the case. Earlier this year, a taxi driver was jailed for leaving the scene of an accident. All drivers should be provided with clear how-to instructions for handling accidents, and there should be no assumptions.
2. How does access to data analytics reduce risk?
With certain telematics systems, the owner is alerted to driver infractions such as harsh braking and speeding. This information can be used to offer additional coaching to drivers that need it, and if necessary, termination of problem drivers.
Our Livery Tech GPS Tracking Platform combines with our dashcam sensors to help detect driver behaviors that need coaching. It can be a real game-changer for companies and provide measurable improvements in driver behavior, positively impacting its bottom line. Samsara, for example, found that use of their dashcam technology reduced accidents by 50% and lowered cost by 60%, thanks to fewer accidents.
3. How do you suggest companies balance delivering passengers to their destinations quickly while also promoting safe driving behaviors?
Drivers should be familiar with the routes that will avoid the most traffic, and at the same time, they need to be mindful of traffic laws.
Second, taxi drivers need to be coached on properly communicating with passengers. If a passenger insists on unsafe behavior, the driver needs to be able to confidently and politely stand their ground.
Finally, companies can’t put all of the responsibility on the driver. When a driver knows that the vehicle is monitored for risk, this naturally encourages safe driving behaviors. It’s on the company to ensure they are intentional with technology.
4. We’ve talked about this a bit, but can you dig into using dashcams further? How do they help mitigate risk exposure?
Dual-view cameras, cameras that film both inside and outside the vehicle, are ideal. The inside view can serve as a constant reminder to the driver that their behavior is being watched. The outside view can come in handy if there is an accident.
We’ve become a society where very few take accountability for their actions. Therefore the camera footage can be used during an accident to show that the other party is at fault. For example, our friend Louis Campisano from the PRA Agency has seen dashcams come in handy during red light disputes. The taxi cam removes the dispute and replaces it with indisputable evidence.
“The use of taxi management software, GPS technology, and dashcams combined with focused driver coaching can decrease the likelihood of an incident or accident.” Wayne Pohida, President at LAP RRG
Final Thoughts
When starting a new livery business, it can be easy to overlook risk management as there are so many things to focus on: licensing, insurance, hiring, etc., but proper risk management can make or break a business. That’s why we, at LAP RRG, provide technology to our customers. Using technology can help mitigate risk and increase a business’s chance of success.