There aren’t many sectors in the food industry that don’t have employees driving. Whether its drivers of delivery vehicles or sales staff or even senior executives, road safety should feature on all safety plans. Make sure this hazard is addressed regularly and consider the controls required to practically reduce the probability of these work related accidents. Make sure you address these issues with your staff in a safety talk.
What causes distracted drivers?
According to a recent article by the Automobile association, accidents are caused by distracted drivers. So what keeps us distracted?
The number one reason is eating.
Juggling your burger and your steering wheel is sure to spell disaster. If it’s a short trip, rather hold out. Anything longer than two hours, rather pull over.
The second reason is using your phone.
This modern gadget has changed our lives and ruined our driving. Taking a call, updating your status on social media and texting are extremely dangerous and also illegal. Recently I drove next to a truck with the driver texting! Needless to say I sped away.
So who is at fault? Interestingly how many times the calls to drivers are from the office – so how does the boss react when you don’t pick up the call? We should allow employees to report these unsafe acts without fear of reprisal.
Number three is looking at the passenger.
Keep your eyes on the road – passengers don’t need you looking at them while chatting. Let them do the texting too.
Number four is having an argument whilst driving.
Anger leads to dangerous driving behavior.
Lighting up is the fifth reason for accidents.
Say nothing of the littering and potential veld fires.
Number six is make up
Ladies, no applying make up while driving – not even the lipstick. Your eyes on the mirror mean they are not on the road.
Number seven is day dreaming.
If you struggle to concentrate and find yourself day dreaming you are likely to cause an accident. This is often a cause of accidents in heavy traffic.
Number eight is just fiddling.
Struggling to find your favorite station, temperature not quite right, seat a bit far back – fiddling with the settings causes you to be distracted. Give it to the passenger again or pull over when it’s safe to do so.
Number nine is blamed on pets.
Hopefully this is not a work issue but driving with the dog on your lap is not that cute! Long haul drivers may prefer the company but this should not be allowed.
Any others you can think of?
Drop us a note in our forum and share your thoughts and experiences.
