Minnesota Employers Urged to Promote Traffic Safety During Drive Safely Work Week, Oct. 6-10
Employers encouraged to make road safety a key component of their safety culture
ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of the national Drive Safely Work Week campaign, October 6-10, the Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) is calling on leaders of companies and organizations to adopt elements of road safety for all employees—not just business drivers—as a core component of the organization's safety culture. Now in its 18th year, Drive Safely Work Week is aimed at helping employees travel safely whether they drive as part of their job or simply commute to and from the workplace. The national NETS program has developed a toolkit for employers containing strategies for developing and sustaining safe driving programs.
"Whether driving for work, commuting, or running errands after the workday is done, the time spent behind the wheel is very likely the most dangerous part of an employee's day," said Lisa Kons, coordinator of Minnesota NETS, a partnership of the Minnesota Safety Council and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety.
The human and economic costs of traffic crashes are significant, Kons said. According to a recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the annual economic cost of crashes is $277 billion or nearly $900 for each person living in the U.S. With nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population part of the workforce, extending road safety programs to all employees would make driving safer throughout the U.S. and lower the cost of crashes. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports that the estimated average daily cost of traffic crashes in Minnesota is $4,351,026.
The Drive Safely Work Week campaign is coordinated by the national Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, a partnership of private-sector companies and the federal government.
For more information, employers can contact Minnesota NETS coordinator Lisa Kons at 651-228-7330/800-444-9150; [email protected].
SOURCE Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety
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