Why Does Your
Organization Need A Traffic Safety Program?
You need a traffic safety program to save lives and to
minimize the risk of life-altering injuries within your workforce. Motor
vehicle crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities in the United States.
You need a traffic safety program for protection – to protect your human and
financial resources and to protect against the risk of catastrophic losses,
actual and legal. The liabilities, particularly in this country, associated
with employees driving on company business or operating a fleet of company
vehicles are potentially staggering. The development, implementation,
enforcement, and monitoring of a strong traffic safety program is the first,
best, and perhaps only defense against the potential company and personal
liabilities associated with motor vehicle crashes involving employees driving
on company business. Such a program is your first line of defense.
Your program should reflect a company culture that values safe driving
behaviors. The program should work to keep the driver and those with whom
he/she shares the road safe. And, if necessary, the program must work to change
driver attitudes, behavior, and skills to build and sustain the “be safe”
culture.
What are the Benefits to Organizations that Manage
their Risk?
- Lower operating costs:
If your organization has a fleet of vehicles, either owned or leased,
managed risk can result in lower vehicle insurance premiums, smaller
repair bills resulting from fewer crashes, fewer out-of-service vehicles
or injured employees, less management time devoted to paperwork involving
crashes, and lower vehicle fuel costs.
- Improved employee
relations and higher morale: Organizations that demonstrate their care for
employees often experience an increase in productivity and in staff
retention.
- Enhanced corporate
image: Organizations that develop a strong safety culture and are
recognized for their commitment to safety are well respected in their
communities.
To
summarize, a workplace traffic safety program is important:
- To help you control the
costs associated with motor vehicle crashes in the workplace
- To establish
expectations regarding safe driving practices
- To reduce your risk of
liability
- To identify loss
prevention and control strategies that will benefit your organization and
positively impact your bottom line
- To plan for the
unexpected
- To document
management’s commitment, responsibility, authority, and accountability for
safe driver and vehicle operations
- To document and
communicate traffic safety policies and procedures
- To satisfy local,
state, and federal laws and regulations governing traffic safety in the
workplace
There
is a significant benefit in implementing a traffic safety program in any
organization. If the benefits listed above are not convincing, an important
discussion of the risk and potential liabilities associated with uncontrolled
and unmonitored company driving privileges follows.
Exposure and Liability Analysis
Motor vehicle crashes and their ensuing costs may be the most accessible and
most reducible costs associated with the workplace. Those responsible for
employee health and well-being and Workers’ Compensation can positively impact
a company’s bottom line in a remarkably direct and significant way, by
calculating the total cost of crashes involving motor vehicles, and
subsequently designing and implementing a traffic safety program targeted at
reducing those unnecessary expenses.
In 2002, the lives of 42,817 people were lost as a result of traffic crashes.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death on the job, accounting for
over 2,000 deaths in 2002, over 30% of all occupational fatalities. Crashes on
and off the job have far-reaching financial and psychological effects on
employees, their co-workers and families, and their employers.
There are direct, indirect, and intangible costs associated with motor vehicle
crashes in the workplace. Of these, the threat of litigation and the legal and
financial obligations that arise out of that litigation are potentially the
most damaging to your organization. Compensatory and punitive damages, awarded
by employee-sympathetic juries, based on tried and true legal principles, are
typically significantly large awards. How can corporations protect themselves
against such potentialities?
Risk managers reduce the threat of litigation by reducing risk. Reducing risk
in turn minimizes potential and actual liabilities. Lower risk and reduce
liabilities to minimize payouts and costs. Reducing the risk of motor vehicle
crashes within your organization is the right thing to do. But employers also
have a legal obligation to ensure that their drivers stay safe on the road.
There are seven fundamental legal principles outlined in the Primer that
corporate managers would do well to understand and communicate to all involved
in driving on company business.
How Does an Employer Protect their Organization?
The development, implementation, enforcement, and monitoring of a strong
traffic safety program is the first, best, and perhaps only defense against the
potential company and personal liabilities associated with motor vehicle
crashes. Such a program is your first line of defense against the potentially
staggering costs that arise out of motor vehicle crashes involving employees.
Such a program allows the company to be proactive in controlling crash risks.
At
a minimum, the program designed for your organization should have the following
common characteristics:
- It should reflect a
company culture that values safe driving behaviors.
- It should work to keep
the driver and those with whom he/she shares the road safe.
- It must work to change
driver attitudes, behavior, and skills needed to build and sustain the “be
safe” culture.
Benchmarking – Does Safety Pay?
To begin to understand the impact of motor vehicle crashes on your organization
the Motor Vehicle Crash Cost Worksheet provided in the Primer can help you to
calculate the cost of your crashes. You may want to use one recent crash as an
example to work through this sheet to appreciate the magnitude and complexity
of such losses. Once you master the worksheet for one crash, you can then apply
it to all the crashes experienced in a chosen time frame (i.e., annually)
within the organization to characterize your company motor vehicle crash loss
profile.
If you know (1) the magnitude of your losses and (2) the actual or estimated
cost of designing and implementing a traffic safety program as described in
this Primer, you can calculate the return on investment (ROI) or the
cost/benefit ratio (C/B) for such a program. Examples abound of the positive
ROI and C/B realized by companies, small, medium, and large, who have
implemented well-designed traffic safety programs for the benefit of their
employees.
These
facts and figures demonstrate that committing resources to reducing actual
crash loss figures and protecting your organization from potentially
catastrophic liability is well worth the investment! Yes, safety does pay.
Traffic Safety Primer: A Guidebook for Employers
The Primer recently
developed by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) provides public
and private sector organizations with guidance in developing, establishing or
improving traffic safety programs for their employees. The guidelines are
intended as a basis for developing an organization-specific plan. The
guidelines are relevant whether you are interested in a safety plan for fleet
vehicle drivers, those who drive their personal vehicles on company business,
and/or those who simply commute every day to and from their place of
employment.
The primary components that are necessary to build the foundation for a
successful traffic safety program are included in the Primer and are useful for
any organization regardless of size of the organization, type of traffic
encountered, number of vehicles involved, or whether employees drive company or
personal vehicles for work.
Developing a proactive traffic safety program is one of the best ways to help control
the significant costs associated with vehicle crashes in the workplace. The
Primer can identify loss prevention and control strategies that will benefit
your business and positively impact your bottom line.
Traffic Safety Program Development – A 10-Step Program
The NETS 10-Step program provides guidelines for what an employer can do to
improve traffic safety performance and minimize the risk of motor vehicle
crashes and their ensuing human and financial costs.
What are the specific components of a strong, defensible traffic safety
program? The majority of traffic safety experts agree that implementing the
10-Step program outlined below is an excellent approach toward reducing and
controlling all costs associated with motor vehicle crashes.
1. Senior Management Commitment
2. Written Policies and Procedures
3. Driver Agreements
4. MVR Checks
5. Crash Reporting and Investigation
6. Vehicle Selection, Maintenance and Inspection
7. Disciplinary Action System
8. Reward/Incentive Program
9. Driver Training/Communication
10. Regulatory Compliance
Such a program, if implemented, enforced and monitored effectively, provides
your organization with substantial protection against employee fatalities,
crippling injuries, and the potential liabilities and financial costs
associated with litigating and/or settling potentially catastrophic crashes.
Source: The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS). www.trafficsafety.org
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