Our job and job responsibilities continue in the rain, sleet, snow, etc. Employees still drive to and from work as well as do their jobs that may require driving as a part of the job. This can increase risk significantly for the employer.
Q: How often should employers talk with employees about basic driving skills? About driving in the rain?
A: Since motor vehicle crashes remain the #1 cause of unintentional occupational deaths, the answer here is best thought of in terms of another question: When is it not a good idea to talk about traffic safety? Employers pay for the cost of injuries and fatalities whether crashes occur on or off the job.
One of the best ways to save money and save lives is to talk about basic driving rules and skills, for example, driving on wet pavement. Nationally, wet pavement creates problems for people driving and contributes to nearly 1.2 million traffic crashes each year, and about 6.5% of those crashes occur in Texas.
So, with that in mind, we’ve created a Safety Huddle fact sheet on Driving in the Rain for you to use at one of your safety meetings, to incorporate into your employee newsletter, put on your company intranet or to print and post at your workplace. And, the next time you notice a dark cloud hanging overhead, we suggest you build a safety talk around these three rainy-day bullet points:
- Check your vehicle
- Avoid cruise control
- Slow down and leave room
One of the best safety tips you can share is to remind employees to check and clean vehicle windows and windshields and to check wiper blades for wear. Here are three more back-to-basic driving resources to investigate:
- Emergency Vehicles: Drivers need to pay attention and respond properly
- Big Truck Basics: If you like to see store shelves full of all the things you need, then you should be grateful for all of the big trucks on the road who deliver all the stuff we like to have
- Slow Lanes and Fast Lanes: T or F? The posted speed limit is a law that applies to all traffic lanes
— Lisa Robinson is a senior program manager with the National Safety Council