By Steve Holmes, Loss Prevention Manager, Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance
AASCIF Safety and Health members all face a common challenge in our work to prevent accidents and loss to employers and their employees. This challenge is not limited to geographical conditions, nor does it impact AASCIF policyholders alone. It is common to a significant number of employers yet it is not their main business function. It produces 12 deaths every minute, 10 injuries every second and an event every 5 seconds. This challenge is motor vehicle accidents.
Motor vehicle accidents produce dramatic human suffering and economical loss. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
• Employers spend $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expense, property damage and lost productivity due to vehicle accidents.
• The average crash costs an employer $16,500. When the crash is on the job, it costs an employer $74,000, and when there is a fatality, costs $500,000 and most importantly, someone's life.
Motor vehicle crashes also drive up the cost of workers' compensation insurance and related health and disability insurance.
AASCIF Safety and Health members understand this challenge very well. With motor vehicle accidents, as with most of our work as safety and health professionals, it is frequently difficult to clearly identify where losses are “prevented.” Following is a success story illustrating effective loss prevention, as developed from formal employee defensive driver training efforts. The letter from a Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance policyholder, Jefferson County Community Partnership , speaks for itself and clearly exemplifies what all safety and health professionals seek, the opportunity to help people to live safe and healthful lives.
Dear Mr. Rieschel and the staff at Missouri Employers Mutual,
I just had to write to thank you and Missouri Employers Mutual for the Defensive Driving class that you presented to myself and seven of my staff on Wednesday, August 16 th . When I say thank you, I mean thank you for the advice that literally saved my life and the life of one of my co-workers Laura Ketchum.
The very next day after the training, Laura and I were traveling to Jefferson City on route 50 when we were put into a situation that you described during your training. We found ourselves behind a pickup truck, on a two-lane road, waiting for him to make a left hand turn. We had just topped over a small hill on a blind curve. As I approached the pickup I jokingly said to Laura “I am going to leave some space because space is our friend ”, quoting you from the day before, but seriously putting what I had learned into practice. I knew that I was in a bad position on the highway if anyone came up behind me so I continued to watch in my mirror while waiting for the pickup truck to turn. Sure enough, up and over the hill pops a semi tractor-trailer with a full load of lumber on the back careening straight towards us. I probably said a few expletives and then quickly thought he needs more room. With the extra space I had allowed, I first decided to move over and take the shoulder to get out of his way. It didn't take but a split second to realize that he was going to need more room to stop and he was considering the same thing and was also heading for the shoulder.
I still had just enough room to maneuver back behind the still waiting pickup truck and clear out of his way. As he screeched to a stop, ending up with his bumper just behind the passenger side front door of our full-length cargo van we realized that the “extra space” quite possibly just saved our lives.
I know that prevention is often hard to measure. That is why I wanted to write to you and say thank you and that I hope you continue to reach out to the community with your trainings. You are providing a wonderful and priceless service. Be assured that my husband, my two sons and I are all very grateful to MEM for having done so.
Respectfully and gratefully yours,
Tracy L. Smith
Tracy L. Smith
Executive Director, Jefferson County Community Partnership
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