If you are a courier driver, you will likely be doing many miles for at least 5 days a week as you deliver parcels and other items to both residential and business premises. The more miles you drive then, statistically, the more likely you are to be involved in some form of road traffic accident.

You only have to look on the likes of Google News to find an article or two about an accident involving a delivery driver where another person has been injured or killed.

It is probably going to be tempting for some courier drivers to try to get from A to B as quickly as possible as, generally speaking, the more parcels you deliver then the more money you are likely to earn. However, can you imagine if you are involved in a road traffic accident it could mean that your vehicle is off the road for a few weeks and it may take you a day or two to get hold of a temporary vehicle to carry out your deliveries.

If the road traffic accident involves an injury to someone then this could cause you even more problems.

If you travel above the speed limit then you could get caught by a speed camera resulting in you being fined, get a few points on your driving license, have to attend a speed awareness course and seeing the cost of your courier insurance going up when your existing cover comes up for renewal. Additional expense is something that, at the best of times, you could do without but in the current financial climate with some people struggling to pay their household bills it probably could not come at a worse time.

Having a bad road traffic accident could lead to adverse publicity for your courier service business. If one or more of your customers were to hear about the accident you may find that they choose not to use your courier service in the future thus reducing your income at a time when you can probably least afford for this to happen.

When you are reversing, do take extra care to make sure that there are no objects such as vehicles or people behind you that may collide with your vehicle.

When coming out of a T-Junction, make sure that the road is clear in both directions and, if you happen to be at the wheel of a van, be conscious that it is possibly a little longer and wider than a car.

Make sure that your vehicle is regularly serviced and roadworthy i.e. the brakes work, the tyres are legal, the lights all work, your oil, anti-freeze and screen wash are all topped up and that your windows are clean providing good vision.