Companies are expanding employer-based safety programs so that they can reduce car accidents involving employees.
An auto accident can cost your employer thousands in medical expenses and lost production.
Every day, millions drive as part of their job, whether just to get to work or also to perform assigned duties. Whether you drive your own vehicle or a company car, what you do behind the wheel can cost your employer a lot of money in medical expenses and lost production if you help cause an accident.
The Centers for Disease Control notes that vehicular accidents are a leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, transportation accidents accounted for nearly half of all work-related fatalities in 2016 and 2017. Insurance Journal reported that in 2017, work-released crashes cost businesses nearly $57 billion.
Driver Safety Programs For Employees
Learning how to change driving habits that cause auto accidents is a focus of the research cited by the Insurance Journal:
Only 42.6 percent of companies currently mandate driver safety programs for employees in company-owned vehicle programs, the Motus 2018 Driver Safety Risk Report says. That number drops to just 19.5 percent for employees in mileage reimbursement programs.
Employees’ insurance costs can jump after an accident. The report claims that accidents that include damage to both a person and a vehicle can boost annual insurance rates by about 33 percent. Accidents without any injuries increase insurance annual rates by about 23 percent. That means that an accident could increase an employee’s average auto insurance costs by $350- $515 a year.
The report found that instituting individualized training and insurance verification can reduce collision rates by as much as 35 percent.
Full-time employees spend a third of their day at work. Years ago, employers realized that a healthier workplace could pay huge dividends, including lower health insurance and workers’ compensation costs and greater productivity. So companies began providing discounted access to fitness facilities, preventive screenings, and even behavioral classes, such as tobacco cessation programs.
Now some companies, recognizing the problems outlined in the Motus report, are expanding these programs to encourage safer driving habits.
Causes of Dangerous Driving
The behavior that causes accidents includes speeding, running red lights, driving while drowsy or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and driving while using a cell phone or being otherwise distracted.
In April 2019, Denver, Colorado was the scene of a devastating accident caused by speeding when a massive crash occurred on Interstate 70, resulting in four deaths. More than two dozen vehicles were involved in the smashup, including a large tractor-trailer that police say was speeding and unable to stop, triggering a chain reaction.
It’s accidents like this one that researchers and safety officials hope to reduce. Establishing more safety programs in the workplace would be a good start.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, contact Colorado personal injury attorney Dan Rosen at (303) 454-8000 or (800) ROSEN-911 to schedule your free initial consultation.