Drowsy & Distracted Driving
With spring comes an increase of us being on the roads. Our work with IDL requires that almost all of us drive and travel frequently and long distances. Distracted and drowsy driving can have serious consequences. Your life, and the lives of others, could depend on your awareness level and attention to your physical warning signs.
Drowsy Driving:
A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimated that 328,000 drowsy driving crashes occur annually, more than three times the police-reported number. The same study found that 109,000 of those drowsy driving crashes resulted in an injury and about 6,400 were fatal.
The following are signs and symptoms of drowsy driving, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine:
● Frequent yawning or difficulty keeping your eyes open
● Nodding off or having trouble keeping your head up
● Inability to remember driving the last few miles
● Missing road signs or turns
● Difficulty maintaining your speed
● Drifting out of your lane
There are ways to avoid drowsy driving, visit the National Safety Council to find out more.
Distracted Driving:
April is Distracted Driving month! Did you know that at least eight people are killed every day in distracted driving-related crashes. That’s according to the National Safety Council, which observes Distracted Driving Awareness Month every April.
Do you know the three types of distracted driving?
Visual-causing you to take your eyes off the road. (Example: Turning around to look at someone in the back seat.)
Manual-causing you to take your hands off the wheel. (Examples: Eating or using your cellphone, etc.)
Cognitive-causing you to take your mind off the task of driving safely. (Example: Daydreaming.)
Some ways to avoid distracted driving are:
Before setting out
- Conduct mirror checks
- Make sure you know where lights, blinkers, cruise control, etc. are located and how to use them
- Choose your music
- Set your GPS address
While driving
- Don't multitask (I know this is a hard one for most of us!)
- If you need to make or answer a call, have a passenger do it or pull over in a well-lit, safe location
Visit Safety and Health Magazine for more information on Distracted Driving from the National Safety Council.
You are important, don't risk your life, the lives of your passengers, or the lives of other drivers by driving drowsy or distracted.
De-escalation Training
I'm happy to report that more than 90 IDL employees participated in the De-escalation Training provided by Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training. Attendees learned a variety of skills and techniques to empower them to de-escalate a situation.
Training objectives were:
- Define de-escalation as it pertains to IDL employees in the performance of their duties.
- Understand the importance of situational awareness in the de-escalation process.
- Distinguish between Clear and Contaminated thinking.
- Demonstrate working knowledge of distance management.
- Understand and be familiar with the Five Universal Truths.
- Be familiar with techniques to de-escalate a tense situation with a customer.
I have received positive feedback from attendees indicating that the objectives were met, the facilitators were good, and the content was not just pertinent to IDL as we do business but would be useful personally.
I was given the Power Point slide deck used for the training and have posted it on the Safety Program SharePoint location for your reference. Whether you were able to attend or not, the information in the presentation can be beneficial.
Daylight Savings Time Checklist
Daylight savings time is the perfect reminder to conduct certain tasks at work and home! While this message is a little late, you can still complete the tasks on this daylight savings time checklist.
Some of these tasks are specific to work or home, and some apply to both.
Visit HomeServe blog for more information on the home tasks.
- Change your smoke alarm batteries (work and home!)
- Check your carbon monoxide detector
- Clean your dryer vent
- Rotate your mattress
- Reverse your ceiling fan
- Drain your water heater
- Change your HVAC filters
In addition to home and work tasks, now is a good time to conduct vehicle maintenance.
Spring vehicle checklist:
- Change oil and filter
- Check tire pressure (a lot of IDL vehicles have been sitting all winter)
- Check all fluids including transmission
- Replace windshield wiper blades and check wiper fluid
- Rotate tires
- Conduct a good cleaning inside and out (deicer is very damaging to paint)
- Check first aid kit and replenish used or expired items
- Inspect fire extinguisher and ensure it is properly secured
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