I was recently chosen to chair the Distracted Driving sub-committee of the Transportation Specialty Practice of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).  I fell strongly this is an important issue.  Little did I know how much national attention this issue is generating during the past several months.

First, Harris Interactive and HealthDay conducted a poll of almost 3000 drivers and some of the results are listed below.

Second, on December 13, the National Transportation Safety Board announced a recommendation on Distracted Driving, to ban all electronic devices when driving a motor vehicle.

Adult drivers engage in activities such as texting, eating, watching videos and surfing the Internet while driving, according to a new online poll, conducted by market research firm Harris Interactive and HealthDay, a producer of health news.

In the poll, conducted between Nov. 10 and 14, 2,810 adults older than 18 who drive regularly were asked whether they have ever or have often or sometimes engaged in certain distracting activities while driving. Among the poll’s results, drivers reported performing the following behaviors:

• 86 percent ate or drank, with 57 percent doing it “often/sometimes.”
• 44 percent drove while feeling drowsy or momentarily fell asleep while driving, with 12 percent doing it “often/sometimes.”
• One-fourth drove after consuming two or more alcohol-based drinks, with 7 percent doing it “often/sometimes.”
• 41 percent set or changed their GPS, with 21 percent doing it “often/sometimes.”
• 37 percent sent or read text messages, with 18 percent doing it “often/sometimes.”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a recommendation to the 50 states, and D.C., to ban driver use of all portable electronic devices in a vehicle, including hands-free devices. The NTSB’s Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman addressed the press regarding the issue and some of the specifics about the recommendation.

“According to NHTSA, more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents,” said Hersman. “It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving. No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.”

Will Workers Compensation injuries be on the increase, merely because we have an aging workforce?

We hear it constantly – the aging workforce – and for some of us that are of the baby boomer generation we don’t like hearing it!  We can’t stop the aging process, but we do actually have some control over the WC injuries that can result.

Whether you work at a desk, in commercial construction, or in manufacturing, it’s unfortunate but true that as you age your body parts just get worn out!  Years of typing can cause repetitive motion issues; years of lifting or digging trenches can cause repetitive traumas, as well as knee, back, and shoulder issues.   But it comes down to the fact that even though just the aging process may weaken the body part, if the “final straw” happens on the job, it’s a workers’ comp claim.

It is evident that the baby boomer generation is willing to learn new techniques, take care of us both physically and mentally, and they don’t want to give in to the idea of getting older so they can’t do certain tasks.  They are highly motivated to keep going, but without pain.

So, what can an employer do to help the aging workforce not get injured?  First of all observe how tasks are performed and be open to having them done a different way to alleviate stress on certain body parts.  Enlist assistance with this evaluation from those who actually do the job and have done the job for many, many years.

For repetitive motion issues, it can merely be an ergonomics issue.  Still even in 2010 we should be looking at how an individual’s workstation is set up and if they have the proper tools.   From a construction standpoint it can be holding training sessions regularly on proper lifting techniques, or merely telling your employees it’s okay to ask for assistance when lifting items of a certain weight – in fact encourage or insist they ask for help!

By providing your employees with training on correct body mechanics, healthy eating habits, support in joining a gym, more employees may come to realize that they do have control over their personal discomfort and/or pain and see that they can prevent and alleviate the physical stresses or work and personal life!

To take it a step it a step further let’s look at the worker compensation cost to a company.  To get a more accurate figure the company should  multiplying the number of injuries by the average costs of such injuries. Direct average costs for medical care were drawn from the National Council on Compensation Insurance Ultimate Reports. Lifetime medical costs for deaths were valued at $17,226; for Permanent Total at $113,372; for Permanent Partial at $15,342; for Temporary Total and Partial at $2,782; and for no work loss at $294. The average cost per hour is estimated to be abut $30 per hour worked for injuries.  The medical expenses were drawn from workers’ compensation accounts and did not require adjustment for charges versus payments since workers’ compensation paid virtually 100 percent of medical bills that is, very few co-payments or deductibles were charged to clients.

The bottom line is as we get older we have more incidents and  it takes us longer to heal.  The cost of healthcare continues to rise.  Therefore, companies can expect a rise in worker compensation cost which goes directly to the bottom line.  For the safety professional, this present a greater challenge to reduce incidents and injuries in the workplace.