Limit the liability of your business - Start a Vehicle Accident Prevention Program

Motor vehicle crashes cost U.S. employers more than $ 60 billion annually in medical costs, legal expenses, property damage, and loss of productivity. While costs by state and Industry vary, on-the-job crash injuries (fatal and nonfatal) amounted to about 6.5 percent of all injury crashes. As a result, the cost of workers compensation, social security benefits, health and disability insurance continues to rise. An investment in an extensive program of motor vehicle accident prevention can be a winning approach to reducing these expenses and an effective tool to help limit the liability exposure of your company.

Consider the savings

According to the report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entitled "The economic burden of road accidents on employers" (request a free copy of the 35-page report on the website), the average crash costs an employer 16,500 $. An employee who has an on-the-job training in an accident resulting in injury, the employer costs 74 thousand dollars. In the case of a fatality, costs often exceed $ 500,000. In addition, off-the-job crashes not only affect individual employees, are costly to the company as well. The NHTSA said report had this to say about the potential financial benefits, "traffic safety programs are a viable alternative to reduce health care costs to employers without reducing the benefits offered to employees. Protection of workers from car crash injuries may be a worthwhile investment of time and resources. "

Companies that use a program to prevent collisions often reap immediate benefits because of the positive return on investment (ROI) from a well-designed safety agenda. Consider the results of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company report titled "Executive Survey of Workplace Safety." In their study, they found about 61 percent of executives surveyed believe that their companies receive an ROI of $ 3.00 or more for every $ 1.00 spent on improving worker safety.

Protection of valuables

Most well informed employers understand their employees are critical to the success of their business. Displaying a commitment to protect the safety and welfare of workers of value can go a long way in helping to improve employee job satisfaction and retention. If your company seems to be a professional transportation or commercial delivery, the benefit may be even greater. With the extreme shortage of qualified truck drivers, with particular attention to the welfare of employees can help in reducing a major cost and space-time ... Truck driver turnover.

"The costs associated with hiring and training of new drivers is much better spent on promoting the safety and welfare of our employees', noted Mark W. Kadlec, VP of Human Resources and Security in distribution technologies, Inc . (www.disttech.com). Based in Newbury, Ohio company that mass transit is an example of a professional career that benefits from a highly focused vehicle safety regimen. recognized by national carriers tanker (NTTC) for operation of one of the safest fleets in the country, has received the prestigious NTTC DistTech exceptional performance Trophy six times. promotes Kadlec, "which documents the procedures, ongoing safety training and use of advanced technologies has allowed DistTech to improve its safety for 15 consecutive years. Investing in state of the art driver fatigue monitors and camera systems to alert our drivers of potential collisions, are just two examples of how we protect our employees, our goods and our customers. "

Establish a program of accident prevention

Depending on the size and scope of your organization, there are several things to think about, in order to best achieve your security goals. Obviously, for any program to succeed, must be engaged, and supported by management. Once the commitment is made, consider the following measures as part of your complete risk reduction plan:

1) definition of objectives, documentation of procedures

Consider appointing a program manager with the task of supervising the safety initiatives of vehicles, including add-on product evaluation and company policies written specifically for the safety of vehicles. To document the goals, as well as the results, must be an integral part of the program. To maximize results, share relevant information with employees that the motor vehicle is a financial or personal property used for business related work. You might want to start both an incentive and a program of disciplinary action to increase awareness of all participants. Once you begin to realize measurable improvements, consider rewarding individuals for their personal commitment to improve the safety of society.

For organizations that do not participate in any formal regulatory compliance, consider drafting key documents of your own, such as a driver written agreement, a vehicle control and maintenance manual, along with an incident reporting and investigation procedure. Using this information documented can help minimize further liability, make sure to change your company policy, if necessary, to help eliminate incidents are repeated.

2) Using the technology of security Aftermarket

Currently there are several aftermarket products available to help drivers in the safe operation of their vehicles, many of which are convenient and easy to install on most trucks, vans, SUVs and cars. While it is beyond the scope of this article to address the wide range of security solutions available today, you might consider to learn more about the following topics:

a) Sensor Based Obstacle Detection: back-up sensors utilizing Doppler radar technology are extremely reliable and impervious to the affects of whether. While these devices can be more expensive than the parking aid sonar-based products, are far superior in terms of performance for security applications.

b) systems based video camera technology: today's camera is extremely effective in giving visibility to blind spots that are often impossible for the driver to see. A typical application is to monitor the rear of the vehicle via a color LCD display, helping to prevent reverse backing accidents.

c) Lane Departure Warning (LDW): Often camera based, these devices are more effective when used on motorways and long journeys. If the driver becomes distracted or fatigued, a warning goes off if you begin to drift into another lane.

3) safety education and training

Running the program with an initial training is an effective way to get a running start. Take the opportunity to impart the safety objectives of your company, employee expectations and the reasons for which everyone can benefit through active participation. Drivers should be trained permanent employees; also consider offering access to an Internet-based driver-training course. Also, think about adding vehicle safety content for your company newsletter, promote continuing education and reminding employees that safety is not a part-time work.

Understanding the financial burden associated with car accidents makes for a compelling need to act to reduce the impact. It 's a known fact that many accidents can be avoided by investing in a wide range of corporate security for motor vehicles can help save lives and reduce costs, ultimately providing benefits that are hard to ignore. ...