Don’t Let Your Drivers “Fall” Victim to Winter Weather

Listen to those who predict the weather and you will find a majority of them anticipating a doozey of a winter for 2009/10. Unless your trucking company has dump trucks that are used to salt roads and plow snow, talk about record-low temperatures and above-average snow falls is definitely not welcome conversation. But whether or not this winter turns-out to be as bad as many anticipate, trucking companies need to prepare… and that preparation needs to start NOW!

Start by making a plan for how you will protect your most valuable asset (your drivers) from whatever winter throws at them. Certainly, this should include providing a refresher about winter driving safety. But whatever you do…. don’t let it stop there. Although there is an increased rate of truck accidents during the winter months, that increase pales in comparison to the spike in workers’ compensation claims among truck drivers during the winter months – many of which are attributable to slips and falls on ice.

Once a driver steps on the ice and begins to fall, it is merely a matter of luck that determines whether he will get back on his feet with only his pride being hurt; or if it he will receive serious injuries that keep him from driving for months. Since you have no control over the severity of the injury, what will be your plan for preventing drivers from slipping on ice this winter? At a minimum you are encouraged to do the following.

1. Encourage drivers to order their own pair of strap-on traction aids right away. For $30/pair drivers can go a long way towards preventing slips/falls on ice and packed snow. Have them look at the products at www.YakTrax.com, or better yet invest in their safety by providing each driver with one pair.
2. If you own one or more lots where employees park their trucks or personal vehicles, fill-in any holes and ruts now. Don’t let them accumulate water and become patches of ice this winter.
3. Assign responsibility for keeping your lots free of ice and snow, and make sure that whoever is responsible gets to work before others. Definitely these employees should wear traction aids such as those recommended above.
4. Ensure that you have an ample supply of ice-melt and snow shovels, and place them where employees will be encouraged to use them.
5. Put down mats inside the entrance doors of your office and garage buildings to absorb melted snow and provide traction.

    

Although falls on ice can result in very serious injuries even when on a flat-level surface, it is almost a guarantee that a serious injury will result when a driver slips and falls from an elevation as a result of ice. For that reason, talk to drivers about preventing these type of winter-related incidents. At a minimum you are encouraged to do the following.

 

1. Ensure that drivers know how to safely remove built-up ice from their windshield wipers. Stepping onto a wet tire or placing a foot on the truck hood while reaching across the windshield is an invitation for a fall.
2. Repeatedly remind drivers to look for ice that may have formed on their truck steps while they were driving or parked before stepping onto the on their truck’s running-board of their

Lastly, ice under-foot can cause slip/fall injuries but ice overhead can be just as hazardous. More than a few drivers have received serious head injuries from being struck by a large piece of ice. For that reason, train your drivers to anticipate ice falling while opening swing-type trailer doors, and how to open trailer doors in a manner that prevents them from being struck.