Safety Coach
Life Coach
Aggressive driving is no laughing matter, but that doesn’t mean you have to forego humor during a training session to get your employees engaged – right from the start.
Try playing this gem from the old Fox hit Malcolm in the Middle: Duel at the Mall. Then, point to this statistic: According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 1,257 crashes across the state involved road rage in 2018.
In March, two experts from the National Safety Council were featured in a Today Show segment offering tips on how to avoid road rage and what to do if you become the target of an enraged motorist.
NSC Transportation Safety Director Alex Epstein says, “Driving is fundamentally one of the most dangerous things you’re going to do all day long. So, it’s important to be in the proper state of mind when you get in the car – relaxed, calm, ready to go.” Watch: How to Protect Yourself in a Road Rage Situation.
Two safety tips to remember:
- Don’t engage with an aggressive driver
- If an enraged driver follows you, don’t get out of your car; try to get to a public space, preferably a police department parking lot
Speeding also is a form of aggressive driving. These key findings from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety examine driver attitudes toward road safety. Hmmm … notice anything strange?
- About half of drivers (54.2%) indicated speeding on the freeway is dangerous, while 64% perceived speeding on a residential street as dangerous
- Nearly 66% of respondents felt police would catch a person driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit on a freeway, yet almost 50% reported having done so in the past 30 days
- More than 85% of drivers consider speeding through a red light to be very dangerous, and 55% felt police would catch a driver for running a red light
What about the 36% who apparently are OK with speeding on residential streets? What about data from TxDOT that shows 25,713 crashes on state roads last year involved unsafe speed? That’s more than 70 crashes every day.
The best offense is soild defensive driving skills. Use two more tools from Our Driving Concern to help deliver your safety message:
Tailgate Talk
Exploration of Wellness
Eight is great in describing the components of wellness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
- Emotional
- Spiritual
- Intellectual
- Physical
- Environmental
- Financial
- Occupational
- Social
At the Substance Use Prevention Coalition of Collin County annual Wellness Workforce Summit, you can learn about each of these components and explore ways to help your employees lead fuller lives. One option is Drug Impairment Training for Texas Employers. This free staff-development training course is designed to aid your safety leaders in answering this question: Can you identify an impaired employee in the workplace?
The course, presented by representatives from the Our Driving Concern Texas Employer Traffic Safety Program, will run from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Sept. 26. Participants will learn about the benefits of preventive training, including how to:
- Identify the signs and symptoms of impairment from alcohol, illicit drugs and prescription drugs
- Develop (or improve) company drug policies, programs and practices
- Access free resources designed to raise awareness of risks associated with impairment and promote safe behaviors at work and behind the wheel
Register to attend this free DITTE training session. Stay for the entire summit, which runs through 4 p.m. at Collin College’s Spring Creek Campus in Plano. City of Plano Council member Kayci Prince will welcome guests and deliver opening remarks. Featured speakers include Julian Alvarez III (Texas Workforce Commission) and Scott Flannery (United Healthcare of North Texas and Oklahoma).
Get more info: Wellness Workforce Summit.