Collisions

A preventable collision is one which occurs because the driver fails to act in an appropriate manner to prevent it. In judging whether the driver's actions were reasonable, the carrier should try to determine whether the driver drove defensively and demonstrated an acceptable level of skill and knowledge. The definition of what is reasonable may be set out in the carrier's safety management program.

Establishing a definition of a 'preventable collision' may be used to achieve the following goals:

• establish a safe driving standard for drivers
• provides a standard for evaluating individual drivers
• provides an objective for accident investigations and evaluations
• provides a means for evaluating the safety performance of the fleet as a whole
• provides a means for monitoring the effectiveness of fleet safety programs
• assists in dealing with driver safety infractions
• assists in the implementation of safe driving recognition programs

Templates of Motor Vehicle Accident Reports are attached and should be reviewed as part of any program to investigate collisions.

Box numbers 31 to 36, 42, 46 and 47 are used in pointing collisions on a CVOR Abstract. (see Collision Weighting Table for pointing criteria)