On the road

The statistics tell the story: From 2003 through 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 5,350 transportation-related injuries involving days away from work among landscape services workers. BLS also reports that 264 workers in the industry were killed in transportation incidents during that same period.

According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), approximately one-third of all of the occupational fatalities in the landscape industry result from transportation incidents.

While it’s a given that landscape workers spend a lot of time traveling from jobsite to jobsite, the length of time on the road and the sheer number of vehicles on the road aren’t solely to blame for the high number of injuries and deaths, Jeff Graham of LaPorte & Associates in Portland, Ore., says.

“A big issue is hiring unqualified drivers for the types of vehicles used. Sometimes an employer looks no further than a prospective employee’s motor vehicle record. This may show that a person has a clear record, but experience driving what? Probably not a heavy truck with a trailer full of equipment attached. This takes much more skill to operate than a private passenger vehicle,” says Graham, who also chairs PLANET’s Safety & Risk Management Committee.

The high costs of a single transportation-related fatality could put a small to mid-sized company out of business. The costs of repairing a badly damaged truck/trailer also can be prohibitive, Graham says.

Despite this, the current economic downturn has resulted in company owners looking at their insurance policies as one place to cut costs. “There are big savings in removing coverage on vehicles or equipment, and at the very least, a higher deductible is often considered. This is good for short-term savings, but in the long run, when an accident occurs, the company’s out-of-pocket costs will be much higher,” Graham says.
 

A Proactive Program
The Acres Group, a maintenance and design/build firm headquartered in Wauconda, Ill., places a major emphasis on transportation safety. The company, which has as many as 300 vehicles on the road at one time, has a written company vehicle policy that includes motor vehicle records standards, and has standardized spotter hand signals that must be used when backing. The company also publicizes the names of managers who have been trained in the National Safety Council’s defensive driving course, and it extensively trains all of its drivers and other field staff in defensive driving.

“With the number of trucks we have on the road plus the weight of the trucks, we enforce reducing the speed when drivers come to intersections. We also enforce being alert, and we demand and enforce that nobody can back up without a spotter,” Human Resources Manager Miguel Castro says.

“We also train on the two-second rule, and on the four-second rule for trucks (to determine if a driver is following another vehicle too closely),” says Maureen Scheitz, vice president of human resources. The Acres Group tells its motor vehicle drivers: “Always use the two-second rule. Pick a road marker. When the rear bumper of the vehicle ahead passes the marker, count one thousand one, one thousand and two. If your front bumper passes the marker before you’re done counting, you’re following too closely.”

Other key elements of the Acres Group’s program include:

• Training at the season kick-off and at new employee orientation. The company holds weekly or biweekly tailgate safety sessions. The training curriculum is different for drivers than for production crews, but both learn about such issues as following too closely, backing, slowing down at intersections, and not driving too fast for road conditions. (See “Defensive driving,”  at left.)
• Pre-inspection and post-inspection forms. A monthly vehicle inspection form must be filled out by managers. Completed forms are discussed at the company’s monthly safety meetings. The company also requires daily pre- and post-trip truck/trailer inspections.
• Drug and alcohol testing. Drug and alcohol tests are required for drivers involved in incidents resulting in damages of more than $1,000 and in all injury incidents that require treatment at an off-site medical facility.
• Charges to employees involved in at-fault transportation incidents. If the employee is found to be at fault following an investigation, the person will pay $100 for incidents resulting in up to $999 in damages; $200 for incidents resulting in $1,000 to $1,999 in damages; and $300 for incidents resulting in $2,000 or more in damages. At-fault incidents resulting in $1,000 or more in damages also require the employee to attend a defensive driving course. “This has significantly reduced our number of incidents,” Castro says.

Preventive Tips
Here are some additional tips to reduce your risk of transportation-related injuries/incidents:

• Strictly enforce rules related to riding in company vehicles. No jumping on or off trucks or trailers. No riding in the back of pick-up trucks, on bumpers, or anywhere else not specifically designed to accommodate an operator or passenger. Always use seat belts when operating or riding in a company vehicle. 
• Train and test all prospective drivers. Do this before they are allowed to take a vehicle out on the road.
• Implement specific rules for working in and around roadway work zones. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, roadway work zone crew members sustain approximately 27,000 first-aid injuries and 26,000 lost-time injuries each year. Landscape crew members who work in and around roadway work zones shouldn’t back up vehicles if possible. Or, if they must, use a spotter and come to a complete stop if contact with the spotter is lost. Maintain visual contact with workers on foot.
• Train workers in how to properly load a trailer and how to secure the trailer to the truck. 

The author is a Wisconsin-based writer who has specialized in green industry safety issues for past the 16 years.