Construction Accounting Article -
Don’t Let Aggressive Drivers Wreck Your Safety Record

Target Audience: Construction Industry Professionals, Contractors, Construction Business Owners, Construction Accountant Interest, Risk Managers, Contractors, Safety Record Maintainers, Traffic Safety Company Policy Interest

If you have more than one job site going at a time, chances are you have employees driving between them. Do you know whether they’re driving safely? If you don’t, your construction company’s safety record may be living on borrowed time.

Aggression Breeds Accidents

Highway crashes caused half the transportation-related job fatalities in the nation’s construction industry in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 50% of all those traffic fatalities were caused by drivers who were speeding or failed to stay in their own lanes.

In other words, half of the traffic fatalities in 2006 were caused by aggressive drivers — those who speed, tailgate, weave in and out of traffic, pass on the right or otherwise put themselves and others at risk. They also put your bottom line at risk, which is why more contractors are adding traffic safety components to their overall safety programs.

Safety aside, if any of your employees are guilty of aggressive driving by routinely slamming on the brakes or stomping on the gas pedal, they’re undoubtedly adding to your maintenance and fuel costs. More important, their driving could create liability for you if they hit someone’s property or damage some of your work in progress.

Education is Key

Fine, you say, but what can I do about it? The first thing you can do, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is develop written traffic safety policies. In addition to emphasizing the importance of wearing seatbelts and prohibiting drugs and alcohol during work hours, let your employees know what you believe constitutes aggressive driving and what you’re going to do about it if you find out your employees are engaged in it.

Some signs of road rage are obvious: obscene gestures, refusing to allow someone to pass, racing to beat a yellow light. Others aren’t: for example, getting angry at someone who’s talking on a cell phone or putting on makeup.

Tell employees your company will have to bear the cost of accidents that occur both on and off the job, and ask them to sign agreements stating that they won’t engage in aggressive driving behaviors. Signing such an agreement forces workers to at least consider their driving habits and acknowledge that they understand your policies.

If an accident does happen, insist that those involved report it immediately. Whether a worker backs a pickup truck into someone’s mailbox or clips a fascia with the bucket of a backhoe, require him or her to notify the appropriate supervisor immediately.

Meanwhile, check with your attorney and develop a progressive disciplinary policy to address drivers who have multiple incidents of preventable crashes, as well as a reward policy for safe driving performance.

A Good Habit

You can’t be with your employees every time they get behind the wheel, but you can make safe driving an integral part of your corporate policy. It’s a good habit to promote among your staff — and a good way to protect your bottom line.

Find out how our expertise in construction accounting can add value to your business. Email us or call us at 1 (888) 875-9770.

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