When The Crap Hits

Following a cattle-hauler is stressful enough (been hit more than once by a gooey brown substance that slips off the truck in the wind). But following this particular cattle-hauler was a little more stressful: weaving side to side in and out of his lane and traveling well below the posted speed.

Once we saw an opening we went past only to find the driver reading some sort of manual while he was driving. The company name was written across the side of the truck and the unit number on the front fender. But it didn't end there. While we drove in front of the truck, a large dog began to make its way out onto the highway. I swerved and was able to avoid missing the dog. The truck driver, seemingly unaware of the dog's presence on the road, hit the dog squarely at highway speed and kept driving as though oblivious to what had just happened.

My wife looked up the number on the iPad and we placed a call to the trucking company owner.

Does your workplace have a policy to handle a call like I made? Do you do an investigation? Do you have a zero tolerance policy on distracted driving? Are you prepared to fire an employee who so cavalierly displays little attention to his work?

If you want to build a safer workplace, you take a tough stance on flagrant safety violations. Zero tolerance. Take no crap. Enforce it hard. No exceptions. The rest of your employees will get the message and you will be protecting lives - human and animal. There are NO excuses for being distracted while driving, ever.


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Kevin Burns - Workplace Expert and Speaker