Apr 21, 2017

Driver safety must be a priority for growers

{Sponsored} You spent months growing the perfect product. The plant was packaged to perfection and purchased by a returning customer. Now it’s time for delivery.

Are your drivers capable of getting your products from the greenhouse to the customer without incident? Unless you’ve taken the appropriate measures to emphasize driver safety, your company could be at risk.

In 2015, 4,836 fatal work-related injuries were reported to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL). Of those reported, 26 percent involved transportation, making it the incident leading to the most fatal work-related injuries.

According to the USDOL, work-related roadway fatalities were up 9 percent in 2015.

The department estimates that motor vehicle crashes cost employers $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage and lost productivity.

Even more, the USDOL says the average crash costs an employer $16,500. When a worker crashes while on the job, the cost to the employer is $74,000. If a death occurs, costs can total upwards of $500,000.

Because a motor vehicle crash occurs every five seconds — and deaths due to motor vehicle crashes occur every 12 minutes — in the United States, driver safety is key. And it’s your job to make sure your drivers are adequately prepared.

Here are a few steps, as suggested by Hortica®, to help ensure you have safe, reliable employees behind the wheel of your vehicles.

• Designate a section of your employment application to driver safety and ask all potential drivers to disclose any prior road-related incidents.
• Conduct Motor Vehicle Record checks on all applicants before offering permanent positions. Record checks should be completed every year for all employed drivers.
• Hold annual reviews and evaluate the performance of your drivers. Expectations and concerns should be clearly defined at this time.
• All drivers should pass a company-designed road test and become familiar with delivery vehicles before moving inventory.
• Make sure your drivers understand the importance of obeying traffic-related laws, safely securing all inventory and avoiding distractions while on the road.
• Offer an incentive or rewards program to encourage and promote safe driving.

As a company owner or manager, it is your job to make sure your vehicles are properly maintained. Routine maintenance evaluations are necessary to keep your drivers and inventory safe.

Keep these things in mind when your employees hit the road. For more information about driver safety, visit www.hortica.com or contact a Hortica® insurance agent.

Hortica® property and casualty coverages are underwritten, and loss control services are provided, by Florists’ Mutual Insurance Company and Florists’ Insurance Company, members of the Sentry Insurance Group. For more information, visit hortica.com. Policies, coverages, benefits and discounts are not available in all states. See policy for complete coverage details.

This document is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. No one should act on the information contained in this document without advice from a local professional with relevant expertise.