Great West Casualty Company Blog

Distractions are a high-risk exposure that motor carriers cannot overlook. Incidents like a distracted employee slipping in the shop or losing focus while driving and hitting another vehicle can have a lasting, negative impact on your company’s bottom line.

Every truck driver has a pattern to the way he or she drives. These patterns, or habits, can be good or bad, or more precisely, safe or unsafe. A driver who integrates safety into all of his or her driving decisions, regardless of the environment, has established a pattern of behavior that reduces the risk of a crash. On the flipside, pattern driving refers to practicing unsafe behaviors, such as speeding and tailgating. Pattern driving also can occur when a driver gets too comfortable with his or her route or routines and lets his or her guard down. This type of pattern driving is common when drivers run dedicated routes to the same customers day after day and become complacent. In this case, complacency becomes a distraction, and the driver loses focus of his or her surroundings and the potential hazards that could lead to a crash. Read the list of driving patterns below and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to improve your driving skills.

Slips, trips, and falls are one of the leading causes of workplace injuries. For drivers, these types of injuries commonly occur when improperly entering or exiting the cab and trailer. The result can be quite painful and, in some cases, prove fatal. The key to avoiding a preventable injury is to recognize the hazards that contribute to slip, trip, and fall injuries associated with entering and exiting equipment, and knowing how to protect yourself from harm. Read this information and put the recommendations into practice to help protect yourself and others.

Loading docks are full of hazards that can lead to a serious injury or illness. Below is a list of safe work practices to follow when working on a loading dock. Read this information, and put the items on the list into practice to help protect yourself and others.

  ‘Knights of the Road’ refers to a period when truck drivers had a knightly reputation for always being helpful and courteous professionals to fellow motorists. While the term may be lost on this generation, the expectation has not changed. A knightly image is a personal choice requiring a daily commitment to safety and professionalism. A collection of unwritten rules of the road that exemplify this code is below. Read the information below and ask yourself if there are ways you can improve your knightly image.

  A fire can be a devastating financial event for a trucking company or a driver. Modern trucks and trailers are manufactured to be as light as possible, which means they are constructed using a variety of potentially dangerous materials; that construction can become extremely hazardous should a fire occur. The dangers of today’s truck fires include extreme heat, rapidly spreading flames, and potentially toxic fumes.

Preventing large truck crashes has been and always will be a topic of discussion motor carriers have with their drivers. Large truck crashes cost the transportation industry approximately $135 billion annually, according to a study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Rear-end crashes, in particular, have a high risk of causing catastrophic losses. The FMCSA’s study identified four driver-related factors associated with large truck crashes; these can also be factors in rear-end crashes. Read about each factor below and discuss them with your drivers to help re-emphasize your commitment to preventing rear-end crashes.

Many “Share the Road” initiatives speak to the drivers of passenger vehicles and focus on how to drive around large trucks, motorcyclists, etc. This approach is good to learn from, but truck drivers must also look at how they drive around others and practice similar techniques. Read the information below and ask yourself if there are actions you can take to Share The Road.

With the advent of more and more technologies competing for our attention, it is becoming more difficult for humans to sift through a swarm of distractions and focus on those items that are worth paying attention to. For motor carriers, whose survival hinges on preventing crashes, driver distractions and inattention are not new. They are old enemies. Preaching to drivers to pay attention and focus on the road ahead is nothing new, yet preventable crashes still occur, leaving a motor carrier’s management team members scratching their heads in frustration. One solution, and arguably the solution to the distracted driving problem, is simple mindfulness.

Cold weather can increase a person’s risk of contracting a virus, such as influenza, which can weaken your immune system and make it more difficult for your body to fight off germs. This weakened state can lead to a cold, the flu, sore throat, etc. Read the information below and determine what you can do to better protect yourself from common wintertime ailments.