Great West Casualty Company Blog

Oct 2, 2018 3:01:00 PM

Time to Discuss Fall Driving Hazards

By Great West Casualty Company

Fall is quickly approaching, and with it comes seasonal hazards that can lead to animal strikes, loss of control crashes, and other losses. Dispatchers, driver managers, and safety personnel should be communicating these hazards to drivers on a regular basis during the fall months. Please take time to review the list of driving hazards below, and make it a point to discuss these seasonal risks with drivers. Also, complete the “Call to Action” items to help prevent potential vehicle crashes.

Sep 25, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Tractor–Trailer Fires: What Do You Do?

By Great West Casualty Company

Tractor-trailer fires can result in devastating losses destroying trucks, trailers, and cargo. Fires can be the result of tires/brakes heating up, loss of axle lubricant, electrical problems, cigarette smoking, and other causes. Whatever the cause, fast action is required should a fire ever occur.

Sep 18, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Providing a Workplace Free of Known Hazards

By Great West Casualty Company

Motor carriers are in a hazardous industry and face four types of loss exposures: financial, property, liability, and personnel. Financial exposures include decreases in revenue resulting from a loss, such as a vehicle crash, as well as increases in expenses. Damage to equipment or your facility are examples of property exposures, while liability exposures involve third-party claims. The final loss exposure category is the most important: personnel. The loss of any worker, especially key personnel, can cause significant business interruption. That is why a motor carrier should be mindful of its responsibility to provide a workplace that is free of known hazards.

Sep 11, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Speed Management

By Great West Casualty Company

Properly managing the truck’s speed requires skill and good judgment. Failure to do so could have tragic consequences. To avoid this, drivers must recognize the hazards that can lead to a crash, know the defense, and react properly. Read the information below and ask yourself how you can improve your driving style in any of the hazard categories.

Sep 4, 2018 4:00:00 PM

Use Road Tests to Measure Driver Quality

By Great West Casualty Company

Motor carriers put a lot of faith in drivers. They are entrusted with very expensive equipment, valuable cargo, and customer trust. With all of this at stake, motor carriers cannot take driver hiring decisions lightly. Trusting word-of-mouth referrals or the accuracy of an applicant’s resume is not enough to gauge a driver’s qualifications. The best way to accurately determine an applicant’s abilities is to physically observe him or her in and around the truck with a road test. Road test observations, combined with the results of pre-employment investigations, better position motor carriers to make a well-informed hiring/leasing decision.

Aug 28, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Build a Positive Culture that Inspires Employees to Thrive

By Great West Casualty Company

Every motor carrier has a company culture that reflects the organization’s values. This culture can be positive and beneficial to the organization’s success or negative and cause it to stagnate or even fail. In either case, positive or negative, a company’s culture is contagious. People tend to adopt the values of those around them, especially at work, and infect others with the good or bad. That is why positive values are so important to motor carriers.

Aug 21, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Skin Protection

By Great West Casualty Company

The health of your skin is vital to your overall health. Skin, the body’s largest organ, makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Vitamin D is important to your bones and other body parts. However, too much exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause skin damage or cancer. Negative effects on skin can be sunburns, sagging skin, mottled skin, or cancerous melanomas; so protecting your skin is more important than getting a nice tan. Read the information below, and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to protect your skin and avoid preventable damage.

Aug 14, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Preventing Work Zone Crashes

By Great West Casualty Company

With the increase in the volume of traffic, number of vehicle miles traveled, and deteriorating infrastructure, road construction is a year-round occurrence. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), there were 514 fatalities in work zone crashes in 2010*.

Aug 7, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Road Construction

By Great West Casualty Company

Summer driving presents many challenging conditions for drivers. Avoiding potential losses requires drivers to recognize the hazards that can lead to a vehicle crash, know the defense, and react properly. Read the information below and ask yourself how you can improve your driving style in any of the hazard categories.

Jul 31, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Hydration

By Great West Casualty Company

One of the leading causes of a heat-related illness is dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body does not get the amount of water it needs to function properly. The body naturally loses water through urination, sweating, crying, spitting, exercising, and breathing. Water can also be lost due to illness (i.e., fever, vomiting, etc.) and taking diuretics. To avoid possible health problems, you must be able to recognize the hazards that can lead to dehydration and know how to protect yourself. Read the information below, and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to keep your body sufficiently hydrated.

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