US employers incur billions of dollars in accident-related expenses involving employees in crashes every year. Investing in roadway safety campaigns can actually help these companies save money.
The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety is an organization that focuses on educating companies about the need to inculcate safe driving practices among their employees. The list of employees who may need to drive for work-related purposes is very long. In far too many of these cases, employees are involved in accidents while they are on duty, exposing their employers to the risk of liability.
However, employers may suffer expenses when employees are involved in off-duty accidents too. According to a report released by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, in 2013, American employers suffered more than $47 billion in direct expenses related to accidents involving their employees. More than 1.26 million work hours were lost as a result of these accidents, and 90% of those involved off-duty accidents.
That shows that employers suffer extensive expenses when their employees are involved in accidents, whether on or off the job. Those expenses include medical expenses, liability issues related to the accident, lost work hours as well as property damage. Therefore, investing in traffic safety campaigns for employees makes good business sense.
Speeding seems to be the most expensive accident factor for employers, resulting in more than $8 billion in accident-related expenses. Employers also suffered more than $8 billion in expenses as a result of distracted driving- related accidents, and $6 billion in losses as a result of drunk driving accidents. Failure to wear seat belts cost employers close to $5 billion in accidents in accident -related expenses.
Investing in basic traffic safety campaigns in the workplace that encourage all employees to wear seatbelts while traveling, avoid speeding, or avoid cell phone use while driving can help reduce the risk of employees suffering serious injuries in an accident. Employers are in positions of authority, and can more effectively get the traffic safety message out to employees who may be otherwise inclined to disregard these.