A Good Day to Have an Accident

Sure, there’s no good day to have an accident - accidents happen.  But, some can be avoided with just a bit of work.  If they’re happening often there is something you may want to look at: What day do they most frequently happen?  At a recent lunch with a large client, he told me an interesting story.

They were going through incident reports when a sharp eye in the office noticed that most of their accidents were happening on Mondays.  Apparently, their drivers were coming in with the events of the weekend still on their minds.  This distracted driving led to more accidents on days following weekends or vacations.

A solution that is showing some promise is to ramp drivers up to working speed first thing, when they get back on the job.  About 30-minutes to an hour of focused, safety-related activity can help get distracted minds back on track and ready to hit the road. 

The time you have your drivers spend on these seemingly minor activities can more than pay for itself through reduced accidents.  Here are a couple things to experiment with, to see what works best with your crew:

1.       Companies like Avatar (www.avatarms.com) create videos and games that are safety-focused, interesting and effective.  The more interactive the task, the better, so if you want to stick with videos, you may want to include a short quiz at the end.  You can offer prizes to drivers with the highest scores.

2.       Having your drivers perform a safety check (even if your mechanics have already done so) also gets your drivers’ minds focused on their truck and their upcoming work day.

3.       Have a brainstorming session as to what the most pressing safety issues are for your driving team...then share it with DriverSheets.com.  If you give us a month’s worth of safety ideas/concerns, we’ll give you a month’s worth of customized safety sheets (one offer per company, of course)!  These Monday morning meetings can also be a great way to pick brains for how you can retain drivers.

We are always looking for new, interesting safety ideas.  If you have one, please share it with us: info@DriverSheets.com!

How Does Your Safety Program Compare to UPS?

How does your driver safety program compare to the big boys?  Sure, you probably don’t have a $350 million training budget like UPS, but what are you doing to promote a culture of safety within your company?

UPS has more than 450 employees working full-time to protect the health and safety of their employees. This is in addition to the health and safety committees as part of the Comprehensive Health and Safety Process (CHSP) described below.

UPS lists the following as their primary safety strategies.  Have you put yours into writing?

• Conducting regular, comprehensive training for employees working with vehicles, with airplanes, or in freight handling roles. 

UPS spent $118 million (about 30 percent of their training budget) on teaching more than 90 formal safety training courses in 2011. Their employees devoted approximately 3.8 million hours to safety training during the year.

• Continually increasing the safety of facilities and equipment. Many of the ideas for these improvements and upgrades come from their Comprehensive Health and Safety Process (CHSP) members.

There are more than 3,600 CHSP committees in UPS facilities worldwide. The committees are run primarily by hourly employees with management support. The CHSP committee framework is designed to allow for participation of approximately 10 percent of the workforce, who represent all UPS workers in their operations. It is ultimately up to every employee to help maintain a safe workplace.

• Stringent policies governing working hours and rest hours, rest facilities and leave for those driving and operating UPS vehicles. These policies recognize the differences between the safety requirements for delivery drivers, long-haul drivers of freight vehicles, and pilots.

UPS policies conform to laws and regulations in the countries, states and other political entities where they operate, and they are often included in their contracts with collective bargaining organizations. We regularly audit conformance to these policies and review their continued effectiveness.

• Recognizing outstanding safety performers. In 2011, UPS honored 1,235 drivers with entry into the UPS “Circle of Honor” in recognition of driving 25 years without an avoidable accident.

This group included 36 women. The Circle of Honor now includes 5,843 drivers who have achieved this remarkable record, including 115 women.

Now that you have put your safety goals in writing, what have you done to put them in action?  Adding DriverSheets.com to your safety training mix helps you provide regular, consistent training, introduce new safety concepts and improve morale – and it costs far less than $350 million!

Talk Yourself into Safety

Yes, this may seem like a wacky idea, but, you can hold your own safety class in your head. This, of course, works only if you have had proper driver safety training in the first place.

So, let’s assume that all of those great lessons and best practices are still rattling around in there.  Now, how do you bring them to the top of your brain for easy access?  Simple – start talking.  Just once a week, try this simple exercise that will help keep your safety record as good as ever… if not better!

Select a day and stick to it – one day a week…or at least a month.  On this day, narrate everything you are doing – and say it out-loud.   Talk yourself through checking each tire – remembering pressures, saying each tread depth and talking about sidewalls.  Then, as you get inside the cab, talk through checking your brakes – even starting your vehicle and as you move it throughout the day.  It may seem tedious, silly and/or insane, but by walking – rather, talking – yourself through each step of the day, you’ll be surprised at how many little things come to mind.

Simply counting out-loud to verify your following distance or just saying, “click” as you fasten your safety belt can make all the difference to your safety.  Plus, it helps make the day go by faster! 

If, for some reason, you’re sane enough to not do this, at least do the “mental work” – think through each step of what you’re doing throughout the day.  From bending your knees as you lift to getting a little exercise at a rest stop - force yourself to think about what you’re doing and what you need to do next.  Yes, I know you feel that you do this every day.  But, humor us – you’ll be surprised as to what a difference this makes.

Have you tried this?  Will you?  Do you think this is brilliant, stupid or insane?  Let us know how it works for you!

In the meantime, we’ll be happy to keep safety on your mind – and the minds of other drivers with a subscription to www.DriverSheets.com.  Weekly or bi-weekly safety sheets put safety messages on paper and in your mind!

What's Wrong With That Driver Safety Poster in Your Break Room?

Some companies wanting safer drivers often do nothing more than cross their fingers and hope that no accidents happen.  Well, sometimes, they say a little prayer… and other times, they do the least they can do:  buy a poster and slap it up in the break room.  Sure, there are plenty of companies with active safety awareness/training programs, but even these companies insist on supplementing their programs with safety posters - expecting their drivers to find, read and remember them.

The problems with most safety posters are many:

1.     Too Many Words – Simply put, most safety posters are more like a novel than a poster – and many people just don’t like to read.

2.     Not memorable – People can only remember about 7 items at a time.  Many safety posters list a dozen or more things for drivers to remember.  Did I mention that many people don’t like to read?

3.     Images for kids – While most poster text is often dry, boring, droning and advanced, the drawings are often primitive, flowery art that don’t grab your drivers’ attention.  Images should illustrate the message - and they should be attractive to an adult.

4.     Wall Flowers – After just 5 days on a wall, your drivers will stop noticing that safety poster.  This means that the poster they didn’t want to read in the first place will fade from memory quickly.

So, how do you engage drivers?  First of all, you need to get the posters to the drivers, instead of the other way around.  Still, the message needs to stick.  Here is the thought process behind what DriverSheets.com offers:

1.     Keep it Brief – Messages should be short and memorable.  As long as they read the headline, they should have an idea of the safety message.

2.     Make the art Match – Drawings should either illustrate the concept or provide some humorous, memorable image that sticks with the viewer.

3.     Repetition, Repetition…You Get The Idea – Weekly or bi-weekly messages should focus on a single concept.  Each month a new message can be focused upon, meaning all of the ideas in those big, clunky posters can be provided in easily-digestible chunks.

4.     Make it Portable – Why place a single poster on a break room wall, when you can put it where it will really be noticed?  Printing out 8.5” x 11” posters allows you to include them with paychecks, paperwork, or even Port-a-Potties; place them above urinals, on the back of bathroom stall doors or any other creative place you can think of. 

Admittedly, we’d like you to subscribe to www.DriverSheets.com and enjoy the benefits of keeping safety on the minds of your drivers.  We offer a consistent, professional product that affordably puts your safety message on paper and in front of your drivers either 4 or 8 times a month.

TPMS: No Pressure To Buy

Tire Pressure Management Systems (TPMS) are a great idea for every vehicle – even trucks.  Truck TPMS require individual sensors for each tire – and a system that can keep track of the pressure and temperature of 8, 10, 18 or more tires at one time – receiving a wireless signal and doing the calculations on the fly.

But there are few systems out there that are up to snuff… actually, I’m going to say that there are NO truck systems that are truly great – they all have their faults.  Here are a few things to think about:

1.       Baseline Systems – These systems usually have a round cap that screws on each tire.  The problem can be that, when you unscrew a tire sensor, you only have a few minutes until the cap must be replaced.  After that, the cap needs to be recalibrated.  The work-around to this is to consider a TPMS that either installs inside each tire or one that allows you to put air through the sensor.  However…

2.       In-Tire Sensors – Placing the sensor inside the tire is a great idea, however, the steel belting around the tire can lessen the efficacy of the signal, making it difficult for the system to collect all of the data.  It also becomes more difficult to change tires, depending upon how the sensors are mounted (some mount on the tire itself – others attach to the wheel or the valve stem). 

3.       Latency – Because TPMS must collect, calculate and report all tire data and attempt to report it as soon as possible, most systems collect data every few minutes.  Your tire can be “alligatored” across the 405 well before you know a critical even has occurred. Some systems claim to collect information every few seconds.  Make them prove it!

4.       Battery Life – Several TPMS tire sensors allow you to replace the batteries.  This makes sure that you aren’t stuck with a $60 or $120 paperweight, should they lose power.  Ask for a guarantee – in writing – that their clamed tire sensor battery life is the actual battery life.

5.       Testing – There are a few new tire pressure management systems out there that haven’t been tested on more than a dozen trucks for much more than 6 months.  Ask some serious questions before you buy!  Find out:

a.       When the new make and model was initially released

b.      For how long the system was tested before it hit the market

c.       Get names of the trucking companies that did the testing and contact them

d.      Check on any UL or other certifications the manufacturer claims – remember, auto TPMS weren’t regulated up until last month (November 2013) – not truck TPMS.

Have you ever used truck TPMS?  Do you have other things to look out for?  Are you happy with your TPMS?  We’d love to hear from you.

The folks at www.DriverSheets.com are concerned about your safety – which is why we offer weekly – and bi-weekly subscriptions to our safety posters… and also why we keep rambling on about various aspects of driver safety. 

DriverSheets.com Subscription Program Now Offering Free Posters

It's not our intention to advertise a lot on this blog, but, let's face it, we'd love to share our safety posters with you as a weekly or bi-weekly subscription.  But, in the meantime...

DriverSheets.com, the Nation’s only weekly truck driver safety poster subscription service, is now offering free, bi-monthly posters along with a newsletter focusing on transportation safety.  Any company that employs truck drivers is welcome to take advantage of this offer by signing up for the newsletter at www.DriverSheets.com.

 “Not only do we want to share our quality safety posters with as many truck drivers as possible,” says Brian Diehl, founder of DriverSheets.com, “we want to establish an industry standard for professional driver safety training – something that’s affordable and better than a tired, cluttered safety poster that is forgotten within a week of it being posted.”

DriverSheets.com operates with the understanding that, as with advertising, people forget a slogan within an average of 5 days after viewing and the only way to make it stick is to provide consistent messaging that is eye-catching and easy to remember.  A weekly poster program provides a foundation for keeping safety on your drivers’ minds.  Backed with a legitimate driver safety program, companies can reduce insurance rates and enjoy all of the related benefits (such as fewer accidents, better health, increased morale, driver retention and an improved bottom line).

DriverSheets.com helps boost morale and retain drivers through monthly contests, random trivia and special prize giveaways.  Posters can be branded with a company logo or can include Spanish or French translations for a minimal, additional fee.

Since 2007, the artists, writers and trainers at DriverSheets.com have been designing affordable, educational, entertaining and engaging safety posters for companies with vehicles. We employ award-winning designers to help drive safety messages home and to keep your drivers' attention. In addition, the company has strategic partners that can offer all other aspects of a full-blown driver safety program – and they’ll be happy to make an introduction for the asking.  We're here for you; to offer creative solutions, save you money, improve driver morale, help lower insurance premiums and save lives!

Backup Cameras Aren't All Made the Same

There are a few random things to keep in mind, if you are shopping for backup cameras for your vehicle.  We’ll re-visit this time-to-time, so feel free to ask questions!

1.     Wide angle lenses (120 degrees or more) don’t show much detail beyond 30 feet).  You’re looking for a dome camera for your 52 foot trailer, don’t expect to see any faces of the guys unloading it.

2.     Make sure that you can easily play back from your digital video recorder on-site.  Many drivers have had their bacon saved by playing back video for a police officer on-site.  Make sure the recorder indexes video, so you can quickly find the video clip you want.

3.     A rear-facing camera isn’t the same as a driver cam.  Don’t believe the sales guy who tells you that a backup camera can be re-purposed as a driver cam.  Driver cams are made to handle oncoming headlights and capture everything happening in front of you.

4.     Wireless systems are not all the same.  Make sure the camera system is digital and test it before making a purchase.  Some wireless camera systems cut out while you are moving at highway speeds.  Others have poor video quality.  Get promises in writing from your vendor!

5.     Where is it made?  Several companies make you think that they have much more to do with the creation of their systems than they actually do.  Most cameras are made in China and all of them are not created the same.  Check out http://www.sharpvision.cn/ to see what many companies are selling and packaging as their own.

The folks at DriverSheets.com have a wide variety of experience in the driver safety training and safety equipment industries.  We create DriverSheet.com safety posters with weekly and bi-weekly subscriptions that keep drivers thinking (and acting) about safety.  Learn more at http://www.driversheets.com.