Safety Coach
Check to Protect
Right now, 37 million vehicles are on the road with dangerous open airbag recalls – and more than 1.7 million of these recalls are in Texas. The risk is higher in hot and humid states like Texas, where recalled airbags are more likely to explode when deployed, resulting in injury or death.
Please help us spread the word to your employees about the importance of checking for open airbag recalls and getting them fixed as soon as possible. Airbag recalls are repaired for free at local dealerships.
In May, the National Safety Council is targeting Texas to raise awareness about the urgency of fixing recalled airbags.
How you can help:
- Check your fleet. Do any of the vehicles in your fleet have an open recall? If so, schedule an appointment to get these taken care of immediately.
- Alert your employees to the airbag recall. We can provide you with posters, e-blast language and other materials.
- Spread the word at your workplace with Check to Protect graphics to educate and urge employees to act today.
For employers with 500-plus employees in the Dallas and Houston areas:
- Request a canvassing team to scan license plates in your parking lots and share safety information with vehicle owners that have open recalls.
- Host a free mobile repair unit. We can bring airbag repair technicians to your organization to get open recalls fixed on site.
If you’re interested in any of the Check to Protect materials or services mentioned above, please reach out to my colleague, Tom Musick, a senior program manager at the National Safety Council.
Thank you in advance for helping keep your employees and your community safe!
Tailgate Talk
Kids in Hot Cars
Last year, 52 kids died in hot cars, a record-high total since San Jose State University meteorologist Jan Null started tracking heatstroke deaths more than two decades ago.
One out of every 10 incidents occurred in Texas, including a tragic case involving a 7-month-old girl who was left inside a locked vehicle in the Eagle Pass High School parking lot almost exactly one year ago. Have you thought about what might happen if an incident occurred in the parking lot at your workplace? Don’t think it could happen? Well, know this:
- About 800 kids have died in hot cars since 1998
- Nearly one-fourth (24%) lost their lives in parking lots while their parents were at work
- More than half (54%) were forgotten by parents, often as a result of distraction or a disruption to their normal routine
To prevent an incident from occurring at your workplace, start by educating yourself and your employees about risks associated with kids and hot cars. The National Safety Council offers a free online training that outlines the three primary circumstances that have led to children dying and how to take steps to prevent more deaths.
A certificate of completion is provided at the end of the training, which takes about 15 minutes.
On the main menu, the course starts with three questions:
- Why do cars heat up?
- How do children die in hot cars?
- What can you do?
One of the takeaways: Create a “Look Before You Lock” process. Supplement the training with free resources provided by the National Safety Council. When you work to keep your employees and their family members safe, you save on benefits costs and you save lives.
That’s the greatest savings of all.