Your Workers’ Most Dangerous Job: Commuting

Encourage employees to take these precautions when commuting by car so that they arrive at work safely and get home safely, too:

• Keep vehicles in safe operating condition.
  
• Wear seat belts and require passengers to wear theirs, too.
  
• Keep your mind on your driving and your eyes on the wheel.
  
• Stay 2 to 4 seconds behind the vehicle in front.
  
• Obey traffic rules, signs, and signals.
  
• Adjust speed to suit road and weather conditions.
  
• Keep alert when going through intersections and when passing other vehicles.
  
• Be careful in parking areas, especially when it’s dark.
  
• Keep vehicles locked when parked, and keep doors locked while driving.
  

Think you’ve got no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer lets you fulfill all key OSHA required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes. Try it at no cost and see! Click to learn more.

Explain how to keep safe on the street. Remind workers to be careful when coming to work on foot as well. Suggest these precautions:

• Watch where you’re walking, and wear sensible walking shoes if you have a long way to walk.
  
• Take extra caution if sidewalks are slippery or when it is dark and visibility is limited.
  
• Be careful crossing streets; use crosswalks or cross at traffic lights whenever possible.
  
• Stay with the crowd on well-traveled streets, and stick to well-lit streets when it’s dark.
  
• Walk to and from work with a friend or co-worker if you’re concerned about safety.
  
• Avoid shortcuts through tunnels, alleys, parks, etc.
  
• Walk briskly and confidently, head up, and alert to what’s around you.
  
• Watch out for people stepping out from doorways or parked cars.
  
• Avoid wearing expensive jewelry (or at least keep it out of sight).
  
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash or discussing your destination or daily routine in public.

Offer these tips for commuting safely on public transportation. When employees take public transportation to and from work, they should:

• Watch their step getting on and off.
  
• Have their fare ready so that they don’t have to take out their wallet.
  
• Stand well back from the edge of a subway or train platform. 
  
• Avoid entering an empty train or subway car.
  
• Sit near the driver when there are few people on the bus.
  
• Sit up straight, and stay awake and alert while traveling.
  
• Hold on to their purse or briefcase securely.
  
• Be alert at bus stops or when walking to or from public transportation, especially at night.

Try 7-Minute Safety Trainer at no cost or risk. Click for details.

• Someone dies in a motor vehicle accident every 11 minutes, and someone is injured every 18 seconds. 
  
• In parking areas, especially when it’s dark, employees might be struck by vehicles or assaulted, especially after dark.
  
• When walking to and from work or using public transportation, employees may be at risk of being struck by cars, buses, or trains; being mugged or assaulted; or of tripping and falling. 
  
• Training employees to take simple precautions can prevent accidents and injuries, and ensure that employees arrive safely at work and get home safely, too.

Other Recent Articles on Training
Compressed Gases: Essential Training Points
Is There a Sleeping Giant in Your Workplace?
Electrical Safety for ‘Unqualified’ Employees
Working Safely with Paint—By the Numbers