When I became an instructor in The Dynamics of Fleet Safety, I became more involved with driving safety.  We know that the greatest rise in worker’s injury and death is occurring with motor vehicle accidents.  Speed, alcohol and failure to use seat belts are the major cause of these incidents, however I recently did some research on 2 other driving problems, which are my driving pet peeves.

How often have you had a car make a right turn on red in front of you almost causing an accident?  During the past month I recorded each time I saw it happen whenever I was in a car.  Any guess as to the number?  Would you believe in 30 days the number was 182?  This number represents a motor vehicle which, in my opinion, made a right turn on red without stopping at the red light, did not yield to on coming traffic, or just made a dangerous right-turn-on-red. 

During the second part of the research, I recorded the number of motor vehicles that failed to use turn signals.  This number is staggering.  Over 450 vehicles failed to use their turn signals and over 225 did so when turning either right or left.

Interesting that over 80% of these infractions were with passenger vehicle drivers.  Professional drivers did much better, especially when making a turn.  The Federal Highway Administration estimates the cost of moderate accident is about $40,000

To be fair, research done by the Transportation Research Board for Federal Highway Adminstration showed no significant increase in accidents with since the start of right-turn-on rid.

These two driving infractions are not reported to have the same impact as speed, alcohol and driving without using your seat belt on injuries and deaths.   Yet, they still can initiate accidents without be recorded as the primary cause.  As an example, the other day I had to rapidly change lanes a car made a right-turn-on-red in front of me.  If there had been a car in the left lane, the accident would have been my fault for improper lane change.  The accident report would show nothing concerning the illegal right turn on red. 

Driving safely is being constantly aware of everything that is happening around us.  Don’t even get me started on using cell phones, reading, eating, putting on makeup, or anything else which distracts drivers.

Please use the comment section below to let us know what bothers you when you are driving.

Hazardous Materials are incidents not only occuring at the workplace.  This could happen to anyone.   The number of OFF-SITE incidents continue to climb.  Please caution your employees, friends and relatives to be careful when dealing with possible common household hazardous materials.

This story was covered by most of the major news outlets such as CBS, NBC the Chicago Tribune and more, in the Chicago area.
ORLAND PARK, Ill. - A 47-year-old man died Tuesday after being overcome by chemical fumes while trying to clean a drain at a home in suburban Orland Park, authorities said.

Eight other people had trouble breathing, including six firefighters who helped move victims in the home to safety.

The residents may have mixed chemicals, including an industrial strength drain cleaner, that shouldn’t have been mixed, said Lt. Daniel Smith of the Orland Fire Protection District.

“The safety message is not to mix household chemicals,” Smith said.

The call to emergency services came in just before 8 a.m. Tuesday. The first responders found three victims, one in cardiac arrest. That number increased to nine as fire district personnel were treated for breathing problems.

Victims were taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn and Palos Community in Palos Heights.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office said the victim was a 47-year-old man, but didn’t release any other information

OSHA Saves Lives 

• Quick Action by OSHA Compliance Officer Protects Employee from Trench Hazard
  On Nov. 17, Compliance Safety and Health Officer Anthony Nozzi of OSHA’s North Aurora, Ill., Area Office, while driving on Big Timber Rd. in Elgin, Ill., observed an employee in an unprotected 6½ foot trench. He stopped and immediately asked that the employee be removed from the trench due to the imminent danger of the unstable trench walls. The soil was Type C and was freely seeping water. Minutes later, the trench caved-in at the point where the employee had been working. The company had a trench box on site, but was not using it.

(more…)

Did you ever wonder why US DOT (PHMSA) now has a security requirement for the transportation of hazardous materials? 
READ BELOW!!

From Foxnews Dec. 13, 2006

NEW YORK —  Mohammed Yusef Mullawala wanted a license to transport hazardous materials and to learn how to drive commercial tractor trailers. There was nothing unusual about that, until he told his teacher that he only wanted to learn how to drive forward, and he wanted to learn fast.

That was enough to raise a red flag with Darleen Crawford, president of the Nationwide Tractor Trailer Driving School in Smithfield, R.I., where Mullawala took driving classes.

Federal and state authorities are investigating why Mullawala was seeking a commercial trucking license after his behavior raised flags at the Rhode Island driving school. Crawford said he was also insistent on taking the test necessary to earn a license to transport hazardous materials.

Mullawala, a 28-year-old citizen of India who is of Pakistani descent, is now in federal custody in Massachusetts on immigration violation charges.

“We are still digging into his background, digging into where he lived in Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey,” Major Steven O’Donnell with the Rhode Island State Police told FOXNews.com on Wednesday. “A lot of still doesn’t make any sense, why he would be doing what he was doing.” (more…)

I recently complete the National Safety Council instructor’s course in The Dynamics of Fleet Safety. The first question asked was, “What is a fleet?”  Any guesses?   A fleet can be the traditional group of trucks and/or cars driven by employees to conduct business for your company organization.  Did you know that a fleet can also include; employees who drive their own cars (i.e. sales reps), rental vehicles, forklifts, golf carts, buses, or the employee you send to run an errand in their own car.  Can you think of others? 

Why are we concerned about Fleet Safety?  The BLS reports incidents and deaths are declining in the workplace, but the US DOT’s FMCS (Federal Motor Carrier Safety) department, is reporting a significant increase in employee injuries and deaths from motor vehicle accidents.  This increase is occurring both on-site and off-site. 

The first thing you have to be aware of is identifyng your company fleet.  Below are few other considerations when developing a Fleet Safety Program.

• Identify YOUR FLEET
• Include anyone and everyone who drives a powdered vehicle. 
• Develop policies and procedures for your fleet program. 
• Driver Education and training
• Identify problem areas and accident data.
• Have and accident review board (safety committee)
• Driver program
• Management Support

We have been doing a pretty good job reducing incidents at the workplace, but a really poor job when it relates to driver safety.  Developing a Fleet Safety Program can help reduce fleet incidents.  Remember an incident’s average cost is about $34,000 and if your company makes 4% profit margin, the company will need to make about and additional $1 million dollars to break even. 

Did you that health experts estimate that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) results in more than 400,000 deaths per year?  That OSHA attributes 13% of all workplace fatalities to SCA.  Here are even more startling numbers, using a 1st Responder CPR/AED team can reduce the fatality rate by anywhere from 49 to 74 percent according to the American Heart Association.

 Recently there have been 5 major changes to the guidelines of CPR/AED responders.

• Effective Chest Compression, push hard and push fast, at a rate of about 100 compressions per minute
• Use a 30:2 Compression to Ventilation Ratio
• Use two (2), 1 second breaths making sure to see a visible rise in the chest
• Use 1 Shock followed by CPR
• AED’s can be used with children 1+ year old.

The greatest factor for companies is to develop lay rescue response programs.  The most vital element of success is training and practice.  Create a link to local EMS responders, but always have your team ready to act.  Your team may save 1 life, or they may save many.

The above worker has NO Fall Protection, NO Hard Hat, and you can probably add other potential problems.  Can you guess what it costs your company if this employee is disabled or killed due to a worker incident?  This might be a question you want to talk about with management, seeking addition money or defending current your safety budget.   While most companies consider safety as a non-revenue generating department, incidents can really affect the company’s “bottom line.”   AON now has a Calculate Your Facility’s Cost of Risk tool for their customers.  CNA also offer a wide range of programs for safety and risk management.