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. 

Complacency: a driver’s biggest threat to safety

Complacency is a driver’s biggest threat to safety.  But, not just on the driver’s part.  Trucks are in everyone’s life.  We see thousands of them every day – on the roads, in shopping center parking lots and even passing through our neighborhoods.  That may sound obvious, but Joe Lunchbox’s and Sally Housecoat’s complacency create two safety rules to keep in mind:

1.      You’re as good as invisible - Because folks are used to seeing you, they have stopped paying attention to you.  People often don’t know, and don’t care, where you are (don’t take it personally).  At best, your truck is just something to get around.  But, especially if people are walking, many don’t even pay attention to your backup warning beeper.  It’s just part of the din of life.

2.     They are the center of the universe - People assume you’re a professional and that you know where they are at all times.  It’s all about them.  Folks don’t even think about blind spots – if they can’t see your mirrors, they don’t care.  Passing on the right or the left of your truck, they assume you know where they are and what they’re doing.

So, what can you, as a professional driver, do about this?  DriverSheets.com has put together two basic rules to keep in mind.

1.      Look before you go – This is the obvious one… but, a glance in the mirror often isn’t good enough.  When you’re getting ready to shift your truck’s position, shift YOUR position.  Lean forward-backward and side-to-side in your seat as you look in the mirror.  This offers you a greater variety of sightlines and puts you in the moment by physically engaging yourself in the action you’re about to take.

2.      Move very slow – When I was in charge of driving a large recording truck for an NPR station, we figured out that a glance in the mirror was often not enough.  We learned to use our ears as well.  We would often roll down the window as we slowly shifted into the next lane – all the while listening for a horn.  95% of the time, the coast was clear, but for that 5% of the time where we heard the horn, I’m sure the other driver was mighty glad we were listening!  Make your movements slowly.  Ease into the other lane and listen for honks from panicked drivers who finally realized that you exist – and had no idea where you were.

We would love to hear from you about other ways to keep safe while moving a truck across town or across country.  What works for you?  Let us know by visiting our web site www.DriverSheets.com or by emailing me at bdiehl@driversheets.com.  See you on the road!