Be careful, we know who you are
Growing up with red hair, I was easily spotted by people I knew. It was a little tough to hide in a crowd. One of my kids also has red hair and it’s fairly long. He too gets recognized by others in a crowd. People would come up to him and say they saw him at a park or at an event, even though he didn’t see them. I think the same can be said with drivers. People who drive the average vehicle with no distinctive markings can blend in with the crowd very easily, but those with unique markings or company logos will stand out. This would mostly be true with commercial vehicles.
For those drivers who drive a vehicle for a living they are in the public spotlight as many people can recognize their vehicle. The signs on the vehicle serve as advertising to help generate business for the company they work for. However, if done incorrectly, it can also stop potential customers from using that company.
A friend of mine happened to witness someone driving a commercial vehicle passing her and her family and as they passed, the driver threw garbage out of the driver’s side window. Now, littering is a very bad habit at any time. Littering from your vehicle is just wrong. Can we assume the person driving this vehicle wasn’t the owner of the vehicle or of the? If they were the company owner would they have acted that way? With a company logo splashed on the door of the vehicle, it was pretty easy to find out who they are.
The friend of mine who had taken this photo emailed the company, along with the licence plate so the owner knew who it was. It’s not good public relations when you do this. It not only hurts your environment and your community, it also hurts the company that you work for. The garbage the driver threw out of their window landed on the vehicles behind them. Could that have caused those drivers to suddenly swerve as they saw objects coming at them and possibly hit other vehicles? Absolutely. If a collision happened, other charges would have been laid.
If you’re driving a company vehicle, think of it as driving a billboard. You’re driving an advertising sign. Everyone knows where you work. If you do something illegal or wrong, people will find out. When word gets out, people stop using those companies because of what they’ve done. Word of mouth is a huge way to advertise; good or bad.
Years ago I had taken a cab ride from the local airport to my home. It was a short drive at roughly 30 minutes. The driver of the cab was driving over 100 km/h on city streets at 1:00 in the morning. I felt completely at risk and immediately asked the driver to slow down. He did, but not by much. The next day I emailed the company from my Young Drivers of Canada email address. The general manager replied back to apologize and attached the discipline letter sent to the driver to show that he was being disciplined. For the most part, I was satisfied.
Unfortunately for my friend, the company she contacted failed to reply to her. Did they discipline in house and forget to reply, or did they just ignore it? In the long run, it will be their loss. Not only did they throw garbage out the window, they also threw money out the window.
**Have a quick listen to this short episode of the “Speed Bumps” podcast as it discusses the responsibility of driving company vehicles!
I have often felt scared in a taxi but don’t often speak.