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.