In the United States, a person dies in a motor vehicle crash every 12 minutes, an injury occurs every 10 seconds and a crash takes place every 5 seconds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many of these incidents occur during work or when employees are travelling to or from work. On-the-job traffic accidents are more common in the landscape industry because employees often are on the road, traveling between jobsites. Given that landscaping vehicles are commonly loaded with equipment and chemicals, accidents involving them often have more serious consequences.
The average crash costs an employer $16,500, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. If an injury results, the employer’s average cost is $74,000. Costs can exceed half a million dollars if there’s a fatality. For employees, the physical and psychological effects can be devastating.
More than 90 percent of automobile accidents are avoidable. Teaching and following practices for safely operating trucks with trailers can help landscaping companies and their employees, respectively, prevent most crashes.