A funny thing happened on the way to the living room.

My mother occasionally uses a wheelchair to move back and forth from the bathroom to the living room, and I’m the chauffeur. As we took the straightaway down the hall, Captain Jack and Bella burst in front of the wheelchair and made a beeline to the living room, obviously in a hurry to claim their favorite spots.

Bella was in front with Jack in close pursuit. As the entry into the living room came up, Bella put on the breaks to make the corner. Jack was following too closely and couldn’t stop. BANG! Captain Jack’s nose smacked Bella right in the rear and catapulted her about half a foot and she skidded into the living room. Jack shook off his nose and as he entered the living room, Bella greeted him with an indignant WOOF and a right cross (which narrowly missed the good Captain).

Funniest thing I’ve seen in awhile. I wish I could have captured it in video, but those things rarely do. My first thought – following too closely and road rage!

Rear end accidents happen every day on our roads, and the main reason is following too closely. If you’re business includes sending people out into the roadways driving huge machines with the capability of destruction and your company name on the side, then you’d better do your due diligence on prevention…

• Make sure you consistently train your employees on safe driving practices. Yes, they will get tired of hearing it but who cares. Keep pounding in the message and make sure they sign off that they heard it.
• Run Motor Vehicle Reports every year on any driver – both personal and commercial. If your driver has a Commercial Drivers License, they are required to tell you if they pick up any ticket, even one when driving on personal time.
• Set up a mentoring program for new drivers. Use veterans to ride with them, observe them, and mentor them. Offer incentives to the mentors based on results. Now everybody has skin in the game and you are the benefactor.

Bottom line – you CAN prevent auto accidents. You CAN avoid all the hidden costs that come with accidents. And, if you overlook this part, its more your fault when accidents occur.

If you take the time to committing to your drivers proactively, you will save tens of thousands of dollars because the accident just simply never occurs. You can’t measure that, but take my word for it. You’d rather not have accidents and keep the money in your pocket.

© 2013. Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved