National Safety Month: Part 2

Focus Topics

Did you miss our first post about National Safety Month? Check it out here.

• Week 1: Emergency Preparedness
• Week 2: Wellness
• Week 3: Falls
• Week 4: Driving

Today, we’ll cover weeks 3 and 4 of National Safety Month, which focus on falls and driving safety.

Week 3: Falls

According to the National Safety Council, falls are the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death. While most of us think of construction workers when we think of falls, they can happen in any workplace, even the office.

The good news is that falls are completely preventable if you follow the proper safety precautions, such as:

• Ensuring workers are properly trained for the task
• Securely fastening ladders to an upper support when applicable
• Wearing slip-resistant shoes
• Using the correct tools and ladders for the job
  

Read more about fall prevention.

Week 4: Driving

Car crashes are the #1 cause of workplace death. Distracted driving has become a serious problem with the increased use of cell phones. According to a report from the US Department of Transportation, 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured every day from crashes that involve a distracted driver.

Even hands-free devices can cause problems. You are still 4 times as likely to crash when using a hands-free device while driving.

Companies have started to go beyond state laws and enforce their own best practices for employees to ensure safe driving. For example, Cummins has implemented a ‘cell phone distracted driving policy’to enforce safe driving from employees who drive for company business.

While productivity losses are a concern, a study found that only 1% of companies that enforced a policy around cell phone use while driving saw a decrease in productivity.

Are your employees being safe on the road?

Download a safe driving kit from the NSC.