# Presentation: 356192

## Causes and Solutions of FleetSafety Accidents

## Topics of Discussion

- Vehicle Accidents
- Statistics
- Costs of Accidents
- Recommendations

## Vehicle Accidents

- Overloaded Vehicles
- Rear End Collisions
- Distracted Driving

## Overloaded Vehicle

- A worker was fatally injured when the truck he was operating rolled backward. The trailer's brakes failed. The vehicle was loaded greatly over design weight.
- A worker was fatally injured due to injuries suffered in the crash of a truck. The truck was overloaded and the brakes failed.
- source:
- OSHA accident reportswww.osha.gov

## Rear End Collisions

- Second-most frequent accident
- Makes up 17% of all claims
- Over $13,000 per claim
-  source:Risk Management News, Vol. 1, Issue 2National Electrical Contractors Association(NECA)

## Distracted Driving

- A driver was on his phone while driving. He did not notice the stop sign he was approaching. As he went through the stop sign, a motorist driving by slammed into the truck and was killed.
- Three employees were riding on a steep temporary road. One of the passengers asked the driver if he was on 4 "low”. He looked down to check. The moment he took his eyes off the road, the truck rolled off the side of the road and overturned. The employee closest to the passenger door was killed.
- sources:
- Risk Control Services, CNA
- OSHA accident reports (_[www.osha.gov](http://www.osha.gov/)__)_

## Accident Summary

- Rear End Collisions are more likely when
- Vehicles are overloaded
- Workers follow vehicles in front of them too closely.
- Distractions increase the likelihood of getting in an accident.

**Notes:**
I’d make a separate slide for distractions.  This one is so crowded, and the distractions are important enough to warrant a separate slide (DONE)

## Accident Summary (continued)

- Distractions include:
- Reaching/looking for items in the car
- Things, events outside of the car/rubbernecking
- Cell phones
- Adjusting the radio
- Eating
- Grooming
- Children and pets

## Statistics

- Distracted Driving
- Rear End Collision

## Distracted Driving

- Inattention to driving: #1 cause of accidents in America
- Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a motor vehicle collision.
- Sources:Risk Control Services, CNANew England Journal of Medicine, February 13, 1997

## Rear End Collisions

- Account for one-sixth of all automobile claims
- Account for 38% of the dollars paid for all automobile claims
- Sources: Risk Management News, Vol. 1, Issue 2National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)
- Graph:Continental Casualty Company

## Summary of Statistics

- Distracted driving causes more accidents than any other factor.
- Rear end collisions are the single most common accident type.

## Costs of Accidents

## Costs of Accidents

- Vehicle accidents cost more than just the price of repairing the damaged vehicle:
- Claims for damages to vehicles and property, injuries to motorists and passengers
- Workers Compensation claims
- General Liability claims
- Damage to transported materials and equipment
- Negligent Entrustment lawsuits and punitive damages

## Recommendations

- What Employees Should Do
- What Employers Should Do

## What Employees Should Do

- Stay at or under the speed limit, especially in construction zones.
- Leave a long following distance between you and the car in front of you, especially if there are heavy materials in the vehicle. There should be ample time to apply the brakes and come to a complete stop.
- Do not drive while fatigued or intoxicated, and don’t engage in distracting activities, such as using a cell phone.
- Use safety belts. Limit the number of passengers in the vehicle to the number of safety belts available
- Participate in your company’s vehicle training program.
- Source:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthwww.cdc.gov/niosh/

## What Employers Should Do

- Conduct driver’s license background checks on prospective drivers before they are hired.
- Establish a written policy requiring drivers and passengers to use seat belts at all times. Make sure that employees are aware of and comply with this written policy.
- Train drivers in safe driving practices and proper use of vehicle safety features. Make sure that this training is performance-based and periodically repeated.
- Maintain brakes and other safety systems on vehicles.
- Source:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthwww.cdc.gov/niosh/

## Summary of Recommendations

- Employees and Employers working together increase the safety of the work site.
- Obey the laws of the road to decrease risk of accident and increase safety.
- Participate in training to increase awareness of vehicle safety.

## The End