When you think about workplace safety, driving isn’t typically one of the first things that come to mind. After all, unless it’s the trucking industry, or other businesses involving professionally trained drivers, driving occurs mostly outside of working hours. However, employers pay a substantial cost for car crashes that occur off the job:
- Off-the-job crashes account for 80% of employer crash-related health benefit costs
- Half of crash-related injuries cause employees to miss work
- Overall decrease in employee’s productivity and well-being
- Significant increases in insurance costs
As we stated in the first blog of our distracted driving series, The Rising Cost of Distracted Driving: Facts and Stats, distracted driving is the third leading cause of traffic fatalities. So what can employers do?
The National Safety Council recommends these steps:
- Enact a corporate cell phone policy to prevent all cell phone use behind the wheel
- Help employees to understand the risks they face while driving
- Take action to address these risks and implement measures to track progress
- Offer defensive driving courses and other training specific to the risks faced
- Ask NSC experts to assess your organization's road safety systems, and help design and execute a program
At Nager, Romaine & Schneiberg Co., L.P.A., we understand the devastating and costly effects of being injured in an auto accident in Cleveland caused by a distracted driver. Through this blog series on distracted driving, we hope to provide essential information on distracted driving and driving safety. Topics will include pedestrian and cyclist safety as well as keeping kids and teen drivers safe.
Please read Distracted Driving Facts and Statistics to learn more about what distracted driving is and the devastating impact it can have on others. You can also visit our distracted driving and texting accident page on our website.
If you have been injured or have lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, speak to an auto accident lawyer at NRS right away. Our distracted driving accident attorneys have the experience you need to get the results you deserve and are entitled to by law. Call us toll-free at 1.855.GOT.HURT (1.855.468.4878) or contact us by filling out our No-Risk Consultation Form.
