NETS Says to Drivers: Your Decisions Drive Your Safety
The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) today launched a free comprehensive online toolkit to help employers plan for Drive Safely Work Week™ (DSWW). The October workplace campaign seeks to improve the safety of employees, employee family members and their communities.
The campaign theme this year is “Drowsy, Distracted or Focused—Your Decisions Drive Your Safety”. The free toolkit may be downloaded at: trafficsafety.org/dsww/dsww-2016-materials.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver behavior contributes to 94% of all traffic crashes. Campaign materials call on drivers—company drivers and commuters—to take a hard look at what they do behind the wheel (or before getting behind the wheel) that could be increasing their risk of a crash, starting with the importance of being well-rested.
A report issued by NETS earlier this year found traffic crashes cost employers more than $47 billion over the course of a year. The cost was nearly equally split between crashes that occurred on-the-job and those that took place off-the-job.
The 2016 DSWW campaign’s daily areas of emphasis include:
- The roles quality and quantity of sleep play in daily performance
- Recognizing the signs and risk factors of drowsy driving
- Prevalent behind-the-wheel behaviors that contribute to a large percentage of crashes
- Dialing in on the dangers of mobile device use behind the wheel
- Making the case for slowing down and buckling up
“The Drive Safely Work Week campaign is an opportunity for employers to address road safety with all employees, not just those in driving-focused roles,” said Dane Bremer, Director of Employee Safety & Global Business Continuity, Liberty Mutual and NETS Board Chair. “Nearly 1.6 million days are lost from work due to traffic crashes and 90% of those are related to off-the-job crashes. This campaign gives employers a ready-made resource to help keep all of their employees—and their families—safe on the roads.”
The campaign was developed using the expertise of NETS’ member companies, collectively representing a fleet of more than half a million vehicles that travel in excess of 12 billion miles globally each year. Actionable steps are provided to help drivers be at their best behind the wheel.
The free toolkit provides easy-to-use Web-based resources, including facts and tips, downloadable graphics, and activities tailored for each day of the campaign week. Also included are materials geared towards management to encourage the review of workplace processes and safe driving policies and guidelines.
Drive Safely Work Week™ is a corporate social responsibility initiative of NETS and it member companies. NETS draws from member practices used in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, utilities industries, consumer goods, and others to create materials intended for a diverse audience of public and private organizations of all sizes, targeted not just to business drivers, but all employees.
Held annually since 1996, Drive Safely Work Week™ is observed during the first week of October—this year October 3-7. However, the materials are not dated and may be used anytime throughout the year. The DSWW 2016 toolkit can be downloaded at no cost via the NETS Website at trafficsafety.org/dsww/dsww-2016-materials
