Road safety impacts everyone. Whether you drive to work or for work, everyone has an obligation to practice safe driving habits.
Unfortunately, U.S. roads became more dangerous in 2020. A look back at the last few years shows:
- Traffic deaths in the U.S. went up 8% in 2020, even as Americans saw a 13% decrease in miles traveled in 2020.
- The estimated number of people who experienced a medically consulted but nonfatal injury was 4,795,000 in 2020.
- Among workers, transportation incidents accounted for 39% of all fatalities reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018.
These safe driving topics are the perfect way to kick off Distracted Driving Awareness Month. But they are also great topics to use year-round and as part of your health and safety orientation program.
You can also find all of these free safety meetings in our Safesite Template library as part of our OSHA safety meeting topics collection.
Distracted Driving Toolbox Talk
Distracted driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle incidents, and it’s very preventable. Using your phone, driving while tired or emotional, and even eating or drinking all require drivers to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel.
Use this distractive driving toolbox talk to open up the conversation about the realities of distractive driving and give workers information and tools to ensure they use safe driving behaviors.
Talk to your workers with this template:
Driving Skills Safety Meeting
Everyone learns to drive to pass their driving test, but education often ends with a certificate of competency.
Incorporate a driving skills safety meeting into your orientation program or as part of a regular toolbox talk as a refresher course. The meeting covers driving at night, handling wet weather, defensive driving, and more.
Safe Driving Toolbox Talk
A refresher on safe driving practices is always a good idea. If you’re not convinced, sit at an intersection for half an hour and watch how many people fail to indicate, stop at a stop sign or lights, or even look both ways before pulling out.
Run this safe driving toolbox talk as a reminder of your company’s expectations for driving on company time and to help reinforce safe driving habits.
OSHA Work Zone Safety Inspection
Work zones are dangerous places to be for workers, drivers, and pedestrians. Review utility traffic control standards, check for training and check all company vehicles for required equipment with this OSHA work zone safety inspection.
If the inspection shows something’s not right, raise a hazard and assign a corrective action. You could save a life.
Drowsy Driving Safety Moment
Driving while tired can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, but it happens every day. Half of U.S. adults say they drive while drowsy on a regular basis.
Use this safety moment to reiterate the dangers of driving drowsy and share tools for drivers to protect themselves and others on the road.
Defensive Driving Inspection
When on the road, you can only control your own behavior. That includes making safe choices and learning to react to other drivers’ movements. Defensive driving skills allow you to notice, assess, and react to road hazards in due course, and it’s an important tool for everyone, whether you drive a motorcycle or a haul truck.
Zero Road Deaths is Possible
U.S. roads are still a dangerous place for drivers and workers, but together, we can help the National Safety Council and each other achieve zero road deaths.
Safesite’s free library of safety templates can help you promote safe driving skills and empower both new and veteran employees to work safer. And you can use them all with a few taps inside the Safesite app, the only free forever safety app.
