Important Tips for Safe Transportation

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Here are some key points.

• Make sure that you always wear a seat belt.
• Keep your hands, arms, legs and head inside moving vehicles.

Safe driving saves lives

• Safety should always be your main concern, whether you are driving or riding to work or from one job site to another.
• Serious accidents often occur when drivers make poor decisions, such as driving too fast or turning too quickly.
• Passengers also face serious injuries – or even death – if certain safety precautions aren’t taken.
• Accidents caused by unsafe driving can result in high medical costs, legal action, and a major loss of income.
• We prohibit unsafe driving by any worker, and require passengers who ride in any of our vehicles to follow certain safety rules.

Rules for drivers

• All drivers and passengers must use seat belts. If all seat belts are in use, passengers must be told to take another vehicle.
• Never fill a vehicle over capacity. If you are unsure how many passengers are allowed in a vehicle, check with your supervisor.
• Make sure you are carrying your driver’s license. Don’t drive if your license is expired or has been suspended.
• Always obey speed limits, including any speed limit signs we have posted on our property. Watch your speed, and don’t take sharp turns or curves too fast.
• Do not tailgate other vehicles. Keep a safe distance.
• Use your turn signals when changing lanes and when making any other turns.
• When driving from field to field, always drive safely as if you were on a normal road. Don’t speed, drive too close to ditches or the edge of steep embankments, and watch for trees, large potholes, and other obstacles.
• Turn on the headlights at night and in poor weather conditions.

Rules for passengers

• Always use your seat belt. If no seat belts are available, ride in a different vehicle.
• Never stand up in the bed of a pickup truck or sit on the rails. You may fall out and seriously injure yourself if the vehicle hits a bump or has to make a sudden stop.
• Do not hang out of the sides of the vehicle while it is in motion. You could be injured or killed. Always keep your hands, arms, legs and head inside the vehicle.
• Do not engage in horseplay or other activities that may distract the driver and cause an accident.
• If you are carrying tools in the vehicle, make sure they are in a secure location where they won’t fly out and hit others.

Other safe driving tips

• Don’t drive if you are overtired, ill, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Avoid driving if you are angry about something that happened at work or home. Angry drivers can easily lose their concentration and cause accidents.
• See to it that all instruments on the vehicle are in good working condition. These include headlights, windshield wipers, tires, brakes, seat belts, horn and mirrors. If any are not working properly, notify your supervisor.
• Check to see that all tires are properly inflated.
• Make sure the vehicle is equipped with a first aid kit and an emergency repair kit. If either of these are missing in a company vehicle, let your supervisor know.
• Take responsibility for the actions of passengers you are transporting. If you see a passenger stand up, hang out the side of the vehicle, or do anything else that could result in an accident, tell the passenger that it is against our rules, then stop the vehicle as soon as you safely can and tell the person to get out if he or she will not comply with the rules. Also, notify a supervisor of the problem as soon as possible.
• Always drive defensively. Be on the lookout for people, animals, other vehicles, and anything else that could result in an accident.

Safe Transportation Do’s and Don’ts

Do

• Make sure that you always use your seat belt.
• Use headlights when it is dark or when it is snowing, raining or foggy.
• Drive safely and defensively, whether you are on a public road or driving from field to field.

• Drive if your license is suspended or expired.
• Drive if you are ill, fatigued, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Overload a vehicle, or ride in a vehicle that has more passengers than it was designed for.

When you’re ready to work safely, you’re ready to work. See our full line of safety supplies, including respirators, eye and ear protection, coveralls, first aid and more.

Download a printable PDF version of these training tips for use in employee training.
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