Training from Your Desk
Q: Why will employers want to attend Our Driving Concern’s new webinar-based transportation safety trainings beginning May 21?
A: First and foremost, we cannot canvas the entire state of Texas as effectively as we would like, and many employers miss out as a result. Employers also have been telling us about the challenges of attending training, and we’ve listened to their concerns. While they value the face-to-face classroom discussion, it’s costly to send multiple people to a classroom training, and it’s a challenge to be out of the office for the time it takes to travel to training sites. They like the idea of having a larger group attend web training rather than one or two attending outside the office.
Q: How will employers participate?
A: Participants will need to register first. Of course, it’s FREE to do so, and materials will be available to download ahead of time. Upon completion of the entire session, we will mail to participants’ work addresses a flash drive loaded with the curriculum and email them a certificate of completion. Participants get a break every hour during the session to tend to important work tasks. Basically, they will attend training at their desks.
Q: What about the classroom trainings? Many employers value the discussion part of those trainings. How will discussion take place online?
A: Discussion within the webinar will include typing and responding to specific activities. Classroom trainings will continue to be scheduled regularly, but we are looking forward to bringing training to more employers. We see web-based trainings as providing another tool in our toolkit for employers.
Register: Webcast training May 21.
Safety is a Two-Way Street
When it comes to cars, trucks and motorcycles, safety is a two-way street. Drivers need to be on the lookout for each other, and this is particularly important to remember as the weather warms and more cyclists return to the roads.
It’s likely some of your employees or their family members ride motorcycles. May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. Work to raise awareness of risks, reduce incidents and cut costs by promoting safe driving behaviors at your workplace. In 2017, 501 motorcycle riders or passengers were killed on Texas roads, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. More than half (258) were not wearing helmets at the time of their fatal crash.
Helmets can save lives and are part of the solution. Safety tips to share:
- Look twice for motorcycles entering intersections, highways or whenever turning or changing lanes
- Maintain a safe following distance
- When passing a motorcycle, move to the other lane and allow a full lane for the motorcyclist
Research indicates fatalities among motorcycle riders and passengers have more than doubled since 1997. Shockingly, motorcyclists make up only 3% of all registered vehicles and log only .6% of all vehicle miles traveled in the U.S., but they account for 14% of all traffic fatalities.
Print and post: Look Twice for Bikes. Share the Road: Get talking points, safety videos and creative materials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.