Fork it Over
For many, an evening out is the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. A date night might involve dinner, a glass of wine or a favorite cocktail. Some of your employees likely will request the day off. Others might take time off for the observation of President’s Day to enjoy a three-day weekend.
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes tend to spike on weekends and long weekends. Crashes, whether they occur on or off the job, can impact productivity and result in higher insurance premiums. In fact, 85% of medically consulted injuries suffered by U.S. workers in 2020 occurred off the job, according to research from the National Safety Council.
Encourage your coworkers to have fun and be safe with a variety of reminders. Start with these:
- Print and display this safety poster: Buckle Up My Love
- Share our February Traffic Tabloid piece: Road Safety is Dear to My Heart – So are You!
- Have some fun with driving safety games, including Impairment Jeopardy: Get started on our Training Center page here
- Watch during a team meeting or share this video on your intranet: Impairment also can be caused by medications, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs
This is the time of year when inclement weather can make travel treacherous, too, particularly if the roads are covered with freezing rain or light snow, a phenomenon that is not all that unusual in Texas, at least in parts of the state. One way to prepare for the conditions: Play this one-minute video.
Nobody wants to end an evening out in the emergency room. Safety is personal. Safety affects everyone. Your mission is to keep people safe at work. But what happens at work affects every other aspect of life. Often, the trickle-down effect makes a difference at home.
Recognize and Respond
In our next free online training session, Senior Program Manager Cindy Leonard and Program Manager Mike Ezzell will discuss steps employers can take to protect themselves and their employees from driving safety risks, including recognizing and responding to the signs and symptoms of opioid misuse.
Register now to attend this free session from 10-10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16: Opioids and Driving Don’t Mix.
Alcohol and other drugs slow coordination, judgment and reaction times, all skills necessary for safe driving. Some medications cause drowsiness. Other drugs can cause drivers to be more reckless. Fentanyl-laced products in the illicit drug market heighten safety concerns. In this training, we will share free resources and tips to help you build – or strengthen – your impairment safety program.
We will introduce the National Safety Council Opioids at Work Employer Toolkit. The kit includes sample workplace safety policies, safety talks and safety posters. Fill out this form to get the kit. Then, work to educate employees on the risks of opioid use.
We’ll talk about how education and training need to be continuous and ongoing. We’ll reiterate how safety values need to cascade from the top down in order to achieve maximum impact. And we’ll set you up with ideas tackle a challenge that confronts all employers, opioids in the workplace.
Beat the Deadline
Each year, Our Driving Concern presents traffic safety awards to Texas employers who encourage positive driver behavior on and off the job. The goal is to decrease injuries and fatalities resulting from crashes on Texas roads.
Hurry: The deadline to submit nominations for 2022 is fast-approaching. Visit our website to get more details. Or submit your online nomination using this form. The deadline is Feb. 28.