It’s the Other Guy

Far too often I sit and wonder just how a driver got himself into a situation that culminates in an accident. The problem is that most accidents are caused by several factors, not just one, which makes driver training difficult. Furthermore, sometimes contributors to the accident aren’t so easily identified. Here are some examples to spice up your next driver meeting:

1. A poorly maintained truck is a hazard. But so is a poorly maintained car.

Some provinces recognize this and require cars to be inspected for mechanical fitness each year. But not all jurisdictions do. Trucks are subject to a daily pre-trip inspection, are on a prescribed maintenance schedule, and open to roadside spot-checks with stiff penalties. Yet there is a sea of automobile junk on the highways.

Why? Some folks are faced with having to put food on the table or get that brake caliper or burned out signal light serviced. Others just don’t understand how to service their car. I know a high-school teacher whose car engine failed at just over 50,000 kilometers. He complained to the dealer, but after questioning he admitted that he’d never changed the oil or even lifted the hood since he drove it off the lot.

2. How many people on the road are illiterate and can’t read a road sign?

Canada is a multicultural nation, welcoming a host of new immigrants. Do you believe they all have a solid grasp of our language and are fully cognizant of road sign meanings? Does literacy compromise road safety?

My father told me a funny story about his dad. My grandfather came from Italy as a young man. He got a job, saved his money, started a family, and proudly bought a family car. When my father turned 16, he asked my grandfather to teach him to drive. That’s when my dad discovered just how bad his father’s understanding of English really was. He couldn’t read a road sign.

That was back in the ’40s. Fast-forward to today and put my grandfather behind the wheel with the same language barrier. There are no telltale signs for a professional to recognize a driver with a language barrier, but just their understanding that these people are out there sharing the road with us may be a message worth communicating.

3. For some drivers, “eat and run” means “drive and eat”

I saw a guy eating a plate of hot food with a fork not long ago while driving 100-plus km/h in heavy traffic. When I see someone eating while driving, I put a little extra space between us. It’s a distraction your drivers need to be looking out for and avoiding.

4. Motorcycles: Sometimes, trouble comes on two wheels.

Motorcyclists are small and quick-a professional truck driver knows how easily they can dart in and out of his blind spots undetected. But even when they’re in plain sight, give them space. Have you ever seen a motorcycle rider after he’s hit by a june bug at cruising speed? Scary.

5. Drinking and driving don’t mix-but people continue do it anyway.

According to MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), one out of five drivers on Canadian roads at night has been drinking, and one in 25 are legally impaired. Drunk drivers kill an average of 4.5 people and injure another 125 people every 24 hours.

As fleet safety managers, we need to make commercial truck drivers aware of the above problems. Tell each of your drivers to keep them in the back of his mind-because they’re not always apparent on the highway in front of him.