Archive for the ‘safety’ Category

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

Posted on: January 13th, 2012 by royalcoachmanww No Comments

This is the coldest time of year in our area and can bring about the harshest weather. Although skiers haven’t seen that much snow on the ground, the digits tell us it is time to bundle up. Whether you are going to the mailbox to get the mail, taking a walk to the corner store to buy some milk or going out for an evening on the town make sure to dress appropriately. The following are some tips to get your through the winter weather and keep yourself protected.

  • Dress in several layers of lightweight clothing, which will keep you warmer than a single heavy coat. This is especially important if you are going to be running around and will be in several different temperature settings throughout the day.
  • Keep your hands and head warm. Did you know that mittens provide more warmth to your hands than gloves? Make sure to wear a hat, preferably one that covers your ears.
  • Wear waterproof, insulated boots to keep your feet warm and dry. It also helps you to maintain your footing in ice and snow.
  • Without the heat constantly reminding you how thirsty you are people tend to forget to stay hydrated. Take a hydration break periodically.
  • Seek medical attention if you have symptoms of hypothermia including confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering.
  • Seek medical attention if you have symptoms of frostbite including numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, or waxy feeling skin.

The best way to stay warm on some of the coldest days, when you absolutely have to go somewhere, go in a Royal Coachman vehicle!  Our cars are warm and toasty and our drivers do everything in their power to ensure your trip with us is safe and comfortable!

 

Winter Safety Driving Tips from Royal Coachman

Posted on: December 30th, 2011 by royalcoachmanww No Comments

Winter driving when there is snow or ice on the ground can be tricky. If you don’t have to go anywhere stay where you are, but if you must go keep these tips in mind.

  • Don’t go out until the snow plows and sanding trucks have had a chance to do their work, and allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.
  • Make sure your car has an emergency kit in case of an unforeseen accident or if you get stuck.

 

  • Try to keep an emergency prepaid phone in the car at all times in case you need to call someone for assistance.

 

  • Every vehicle handles differently. Practice your winter driving techniques if possible and read your owner’s manual for tips.

 

  • If you are driving on ice decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.

 

  • Be careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  • If your rear wheels start to skid take your foot off the accelerator and steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If you have standard brakes pump them gently, and if you have anti-lock brakes (ABS) apply steady pressure to the brakes. It is normal to feel the brakes pulse.
  • If your front wheels skid take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don’t try to steer immediately.  As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in “drive” or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.
  • If you get stuck do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper. Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.  Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.

 

The safest option for driving in the winter is of course, to give us a call. With our highly trained drivers at Royal Coachman Worldwide, we will get you to your destination safely and on time.

Safety Goes Beyond Our Vehicles at Royal Coachman

Posted on: December 23rd, 2011 by royalcoachmanww No Comments

Many of you may have seen several reports on the news over the last year of hackers getting ahold of some pretty large corporations and having access to their customer’s private data.  Because of this, Royal Coachman has elected to have a Cyber Insurance Policy. This is something most limousine companies don’t carry, but we feel is essential with technology playing such a large part of all our businesses, to make sure our customers are covered as well as us in the event of a breach with data on our computers. Another example of why Royal Coachman has Cyber Insurance is that employees or drivers takes credit card information. We want to have that exposure covered and that is what the Cyber policy provides. Please note, however, although we have it, we’ve never had a situation where Cyber Insurance was needed to date.

What does the Policy Cover?

Our Cyber policy provides coverage for data stored in our computer systems as well as on paper.  Following types of acts that are included in our coverage:

  • Hacker Attack – someone hacks into your computer system and steals customer data;
  • Cyber Extortion – When someone says, “give me money or I will shut down your website.”  After this has been filed with the policy Cyber Liability may pay the extortionist so your website does not go down;
  • Cyber Terrorism – When someone is not requesting money but makes a threat to shut down your website if you don’t do something they want.  No money has been exchanged but they are threatening to stop your business for self gain.
  • Virus Transition – if there is a virus on your computer that leads you to lose all of your customer data;
  • Human Error – a person does not shred important paperwork, or leaves valuable data available to get in the wrong hands:  Old files with customers’ social security numbers was meant to be shredded but was thrown out in the trash.  Someone takes this information and sales it on the black market;
  • Employee Sabotage – an employee is upset with the owner so (s)he decides to get “even” by taking or giving out customers information;
  • Damage to Reputation – public is aware that your company gave out its customer’s credit card information, to help rebuild your reputation.
  • Power Failure – If data is lost due to a power failure;
  • Natural Disaster – If data is lost due to a natural disaster;

Who might need Cyber Insurance?

Any organization that holds sensitive customer information (credit card info, address info) or employee information (date of birth, medical issue, payroll, etc.) might need Cyber Insurance.  48 States have enacted privacy breach laws to protect consumers.  Many states require that companies must notify their customers whenever there is a security breach of their Personally Identifiable Information.  The law applies based on residency of the customer, not the company responsible for the breach.  .

 

What would happen if a Cyber Breach were to occur?

After a Cyber Breach, it is our legal responsibility to notify each person affected and alert them of what information is out there.  Clients may then need to be set up with Credit Monitoring and the length of time of this depends on the State law.  Cyber Insurance will also help restore your reputation and cover for loss of customers due to this breach. An official claim would be processed if this occurred.

Halloween Safety Tips from Royal Coachman’s Chauffeurs

Posted on: October 28th, 2011 by royalcoachmanww No Comments

Although Halloween is intended to be fun for kids of all ages, without some special consideration and preparation, Halloween can quickly turn into tragedy. On average, twice as many kids are killed while out trick-or-treating on Halloween night compared to other days of the year.

While excited trick-or-treaters may forget the rules of the road and be oblivious to the hazards, we, as the adults must be vigilant

Help protect trick-or-treaters by following these driving safety tips on Halloween (Monday) or on the Saturday and Sunday before, when trick or treating, parties and community Halloween activities are in full swing.

If your community is celebrating Halloween on Monday, be especially careful between 4 and 8 p.m., when commuters are on their way home. Most the most severe vehicle/young pedestrian collisions happen.

For those of you driving this Halloween season, our chauffeurs  would like to help you keep your little ghosts and goblins safe. Below are a few safety tips to follow during the Halloween season:

1. Slow Down

Watch for children darting into the street. Kids can cross the street anywhere, and most young pedestrian deaths happen at spots other than intersections. And remember that it will be difficult to see children dressed in dark colors and in costumes that cover their eyes out walking on streets and roadways at dusk when many adults are still driving home from work.

This is the one day or night out of the year that you should drive well below the speed limit–especially in residential neighborhoods where the majority of trick or treating is done.

2. Be Careful Passing Stopped Vehicles

Before you assume that a vehicle in front of you is pulled over just to aggravate you, remember, it may be a parent dropping off a bunch of costumed kids.  Like school bus drivers, be extra careful that a child doesn’t dart in front of your car, into an oncoming vehicle.

3. Use Your Hazard Lights

If you’re the designated driver dropping off the kids somewhere, throw on your hazard lights when you pull over so that other drivers see you letting children in and out of the car, and will hopefully slow down and drive more carefully.

4.  Park your mobile phone.

One of the important Halloween driving tips is not to use any electronic device or mobile phones as you dare driving on the Halloween You simply have no excuse for letting yourself be distracted by your cellphone.  Halloween night activity is, in and of itself, a big distraction when you are driving.  Talking of your phone –hands free or otherwise – is particularly dangerous when excited little kids are running around. Avoid your risk by waiting until you’ve stopped, or even better, do what our chauffeurs always do: pull to the side of the road.  Texting or surfing is so inappropriate on Halloween it is hard to imagine anyone would be so stupid – but watch out for them anyway. Nothing that happens on the road surprises us anymore.

5. Be Extra Vigilant When You See Kids

Yield to young pedestrians. Children might not stop, either because they don’t see your vehicle approaching or don’t know how to safely cross the street.

Remember, we are the adults. By definition, kids” do stupid things. They can’t help it. They don’t look both ways, they dart into the street without looking, they’re easily distracted and on October 31st (this year a Monday), they’re all excited and reeved up from all the sugar they’ve ingested. Plus, if the kid has a mask on, they’re vision is probably impaired as well.

So, anytime you see kids with costumes on, open your eyes, sit up and pay attention and again…slow down.  Be careful of stragglers … they are interested only in getting back to their friends, street or no street. Please don’t assume children can

6. Enter & Exit Driveways Carefully

With gangs of candy junkies walking the sidewalks of your neighborhood, make sure you’re especially careful when pulling in and out of driveways. Please don’t assume children can see you or are paying attention. You need to take that responsibility.

Did I mention kids don’t pay attention and do stupid things? So do some adults. So, if you’re driving to a Halloween party, put that mask on after you park the car, avoid neighborhood shortcuts where trick or treaters are likely to be, drive sober, or have a designated driver lined up.

Your childrens’ safety is your responsibility whether in or out of the car on Halloween.  So make a plan. Review trick-or-treat safety precautions and plan the route ahead of time. Remind children never to cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.

And as always, buckle up.  Don’t forego having your kids in their car seats even though “buckling up” takes time every time you stop.

On Halloween, your neighborhood will literally be swarming with children, and it’s your job to be sure they take their treats home safely. Trick-or-treating, a fun-filled activity that little ghosts and goblins look forward to, can quickly turn into tragedy.

Halloween can truly be a fun night full of great memories if you follow our chauffeurs’ advice and take a few steps to keep it safe and trouble free!

Safety is Always First at Royal Coachman

Posted on: October 21st, 2011 by royalcoachmanww No Comments

A recent deadly limousine crash took the lives of two South New Jersey residents on their way to the airport. The couple were inside a hired Lincoln Town Car (not one of our cars, but a competitor’s) around 3:45 a.m., when their driver lost control and struck the rear end of a trailer loaded with construction equipment. Our hearts go out to their families and our minds turn back to our number one priority: ensuring we continue to provide safe and luxurious transportation for all our customers.

At Royal Coachman we believe a limousine ride to the airport shouldn’t make you feel more anxious than the plane ride itself. That’s why, for the ultimate in luxury and security savvy business customers choose to take a ride with us.  We make comfort and safety a dual priority, employing teams of well-trained chauffeurs who exemplify the finest standards in professionalism and excellence. Our customers rely on us to deliver them to their destination in comfort while employing the highest safety standards and we deliver, day after day. We pride ourselves in providing a safe and secure ride for all of our customers.

Because we are so committed to safety we have on staff both a Manager of Human Resources and a Chauffeur Manager who work together as a team to closely screen and train all new employees. Every chauffeur trainee is hand-picked from the very best applicants. Every new chauffeur attends our rigorous training course that produces exceptional drivers committed to the highest degree of professionalism. Our comprehensive training program includes a complete criminal background check. We conduct thorough drug and alcohol checks on every chauffeur who drives one of our vehicles. We also conduct thorough reference checks and extensive driver abstract checks. Our training program is one of the most complete and exhaustive training programs in the world and every chauffeur must complete it before getting behind the wheel of any Royal Coachman vehicle.

Every chauffeur who drives for Royal Coachman starts by attending our unique classroom training program where they learn proper customer service and safety. In the classroom environment they are required to understand our emphasis on customer safety and satisfaction. Once they complete the classroom training they move on to real world, on-the-road training where they have an opportunity to practice their on-the-road skills. This training also includes role-playing activities where the trainee chauffeur actually gets behind the wheel of a Royal Coachman vehicle and demonstrates their driving ability. A senior trainer will play the role of a client, riding in the back and instructing the driver, allowing the trainee an opportunity to demonstrate their full understanding of the level of safety and service we expect from every chauffeur.

Finally, our trainee chauffeurs spend two whole days on the road with a senior chauffeur mentor who guides them to understand the degree of professionalism required of all our drivers. We  pride ourself on delivering the highest level of service and safety we can achieve because our customers deserve it. When you retain the services of a Royal Coachman Worldwide limousine, your expectations are that you will receive the utmost in luxury, safety and convenience and it is our pledge that we will meet or exceed those expectations. For our customers and for ourselves we expect and deliver nothing but the finest experience because we pride ourselves on excellence. That is the Royal Coachman promise.