Defensive Driving Tips and Techniques

How is this for an alarming statistic? In the United States 41,000 people die from motor vehicle accidents every year. Another two million sustain serious injuries. And that doesn’t include other countries around the world.

Imagine for a moment those teenagers you often see doing dangerous, senseless stunts on their bikes and skateboards. Guess what. Those teenagers grow up, become drivers and probably form part of the accident statistics already discussed.

If you arm yourself with some commonsense, defensive driving, statistics, and risk management, you can make sure you are not amongst the 41,000 or the two million.

(more…)

defensive driving course statistics mean little to many small companies, who find the cost savings of defensive driving courses hard to quantify unless they suffer a vehicle accident. Many small companies have a bottom line deductible on auto insurance of up to $10,000, so for them, saving a single accident may pay the cost of a defensive driving course. Many fleet operators that track employee-involved accidents point to defensive driving statistics highlighting a 60 percent reduction in accidents as justification for the program.

Many employees who drive a vehicle as part of their job responsibilities, regard driving a major concern for potential injury. One of the defensive driving statistics that support this fear is that 30 percent of traumatic fatalities occurred in vehicle crashes. Those companies that have introduced defensive driving classes report a significant drop in these numbers to about 10 percent in worker related deaths.

However, financial numbers are not the only aspect that companies should consider when looking at this issue. When a worker is injured performing a job for which they are not properly trained, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can find companies liable. For example, one issue arises when an employee is involved in an accident whilst on company business. If that employee has not been exposed to classes on defensive driving, statistics show the company may face a stiff fine by OSHA, even if the driver was not at fault for the accident.

(more…)