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Safe drivers are good company;
Make safe driving your business

For millions of commuters, driving to work isn’t as easy or as safe as it used to be. Over the past 20 years, highway travel has increased by 80 percent and the number of drivers has increased by 30 percent, yet little has been done to modify our road systems to accommodate all of these drivers.

This makes for crowded roads and frustrated motorists.

Many drivers are taking matters into their own hands and are attempting to reduce their drive time by speeding, running red lights, driving aggressively and engaging in other unsafe driving behaviors. But, in many instances these types of “timesaving” behaviors result in a crash, costing employees and their employers time and money.

Every five seconds a crash occurs on America’s roadways. Many of them involve employees who drive for work or to and from work, and many of them could have been prevented.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driver error is a contributing factor in more than 90 percent of motor vehicle crashes.

In its 2002 “National Survey of Speeding and Unsafe Driving Attitudes and Behavior,” NHTSA found speeding to be the most reported unsafe driving behavior and one of the most prevalent contributing factors to traffic crashes.

Other reported unsafe driving behaviors attributed to thousands of motor vehicle crashes included entering an intersection just as the light turned from yellow to red, rolling through stop signs and cutting in front of other drivers.

Whether these roadway mistakes result in a crash on or off the job, the cost to employers is significant.

The average motor vehicle crash costs an employer $16,500. The more miles driven by employees, the higher the typical costs of crashes. The good news is that motor vehicle crashes and their costs are preventable, NTHSA emphasizes.

While drivers cannot control weather and road conditions or the driving of others, they can control their own driving behavior. Drivers, who are alert, focused, and practice good judgment make the decision to drive safely and avoid a crash.

Protect yourselves and your employees by participating in the eighth annual Drive Safely Work Week (DSWW) campaign next week (Oct. 4-8). This year’s theme is: “Safe drivers are good company. Make safe driving your business.”

The campaign focuses on five practical behaviors that every driver can practice to ensure their safety and the safety of others sharing the road. The five safe driving behaviors are: