Safety at Steigerwaldt: Defensive Driving
At Steigerwaldt Land Services, we have team members driving and working on various project locations throughout the country, and their safety is of utmost importance. Oftentimes, getting to and from these worksites poses the greatest risk to the health of our team members. When it comes to defensive driving, these are some important tips to remember and follow to maintain safety:
- Sticks, trees, and logs within the roadbed and directly adjacent have lead to incident reports and can cause damage to vehicles/equipment as well as people
- Tall grass can disguise danger areas
- Water over roads can disguise washed out roads – turn around and don’t drown
- Springtime freeze and thaw can make roads unstable and lead to vehicles becoming stuck in even the best of roads
- Snow on woods roads can lead to slide offs, especially on crowned and ditched roads
- Remove obstacles from the roadbeds to reduce chance of damage to the vehicle you are driving as well as damage to yourself and other vehicles that follow
- Sometimes walking is the most effective
Also, it is key to avoid distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) classifies distracted driving as any activity that takes away focus from the road and includes:
● Talking or texting on your phone
● Eating and drinking
● Talking to people in your vehicle
● Changing the music or radio station
● Using your navigation system
As we approach the fall season, schools across the country will be resuming which means school buses will also be out. Part of defensive driving is being aware of surroundings, stopping for all buses, and watching for kids crossing the roads.
The safety and well-being of our employees is critical. At Steigerwaldt, we make it a focus that our staff is ready for defensive driving and always maintains safe driving habits. Employees that are required to drive on company business follow our internal Safe Driving policy. We each have a responsibility to not only protect ourselves when on the road but also should do our part to protect those around us.
Stay safe out there.
