Occupational Hazardssays this week, October 3-7, is Drive Safely Work Week, a campaign to raise awareness about driving safety and reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries in their workforce.
"People need to drive safer. It's discouraging to note that last year, transportation incidents were the leading cause of on-the-job deaths – accounting for about one out of every four fatal work injuries in 2004. We urge law enforcement officials to crack down on those that break traffic laws. Speeding, ignoring work zone safety warnings, running red lights and stop signs, distracted driving, and more all contribute to the continued deaths of workers on the road. These workers include policemen and women, emergency personnel, fire fighters, utility workers, truck drivers and those in sales," noted ASSE President Jack H. Dobson Jr., CSP.
He said ASSE is also urging employers to review their driver safety policies, which could include not requiring workers to conduct business on a cell phone while driving, mandating the use of a seat belt and developing work schedules that allow employees to obey speed limits and to follow applicable hours-of-service regulations.
An August report from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that over 5,700 died last year from on-the-job work injuries. And Occupational Hazards says that traffic crashes leading cause of on-the-job deaths so it is crucial that safety procedures be followed and people eliminate driving distractions and focus on their driving.
