Safety Experts Urge Workplace Involvement to Reduce Crashes

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 28 -- The biggest threat to the lives of Minnesota workers comes from one of their most common activities: getting behind the wheel and driving. In support of National Drive Safely Work Week, October 4-8, the Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (Minnesota NETS), the Minnesota Safety Council, and AAA Minnesota/Iowa are urging employers to promote simple steps that can help their employees reduce this risk.

"Traffic incidents are the leading cause of work-related deaths in Minnesota and the U.S. overall," said Lisa Kons, coordinator of Minnesota NETS and of traffic safety programs for the Minnesota Safety Council. "In addition to the human suffering that results, these crashes pose a huge financial burden for employers."

The annual costs to Minnesota employers for crash-related injuries on and off-the-job amount to $505,000,000, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

"Almost 40 percent of lost work hours are due to motor vehicle crashes," said Jeff Ogden, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa. "By promoting something as simple as always buckling up, employers can help reduce their employees' risk of serious injury and death by forty to sixty percent."

Additional key behaviors employers can target include traveling at a safe and legal speed, paying attention to the road, and driving sober, Kons and Ogden said.

For more information about Drive Safely Work Week and resources for employers, including fact sheets, brochures, an online crash cost calculator and more, visit the Minnesota NETS Web site at http://www.mnsafetycouncil.org/nets .

Minnesota NETS is a project of the Minnesota Safety Council and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety. National Drive Safely Work Week is sponsored by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), a nonprofit public-private partnership. The effort provides coordinated resources for employers to help all employees (those who drive on the job and those who do not), avoid traffic crashes.

  Traffic Safety Facts for Employers
   -- In Minnesota, highway incidents accounted for 29.4 percent of fatal
      work injuries from 1998-2002. (Minnesota Department of Labor and
      Industry)
   -- U.S. companies pay an average of $29,000 for a vehicle crash, in
      insurance costs, lost production and workers' compensation. (Network
      of Employers for Traffic Safety)
   -- Motor vehicle crashes are the most costly workers' compensation claims
      by cause of injury.  (National Council of Compensation Costs.)
   -- In 2002 on Minnesota's roads there were 94,969 crashes, 657 deaths,
      and 40,677 injuries.  The cost to Minnesota is estimated at
      $1,711,601,500.  In 2003, there were 655 deaths.  (Minnesota
      Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety)

The Minnesota Safety Council, founded in 1928, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Minnesota by preventing unintentional deaths and injuries.