Some New Wrinkles in Drive Safely Work Week 2011
The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety will offer Spanish-language materials in September and says the Focus360° theme emphasizes that campaign materials "will help organizations promote a full-circle approach to preventing distracted-driving incidents."
Oct. 3-7 is this year's Drive Safely Work Week, the annual event from NETS, the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. Campaign materials available at the NETS website will help organizations prepare to launch a new mobile device policy or sustain an existing one. NETS also says the toolkit will help employers "build a full-circle awareness of distracted driving to make prevention part of an everyday personal safety culture." The U.S. Department of Transportation is trying to accomplish that, as well.
The theme of the week is "Focus360°... Getting there safely is everyone's business." NETS developed the toolkit with support from DOT.
The most recent government study estimates that employee traffic crashes, on and off the job, cost employers $60 billion annually, according to NETS.
J.M. "Jack" Hanley, executive director of Vienna, Va.-based NETS, said more than 5,000 toolkits were downloaded last year, a record for this event, and NETS estimates the materials reached 22 million employees -- more than 12 percent of the U.S. workforce. "I am convinced we can reach an even larger audience this year," he added.
Last year's DSWW concentrated largely on what employers can do to combat distracted driving. The 2011 campaign reinforces that while broadening its scope to include pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers and what they can do to reduce distracted driving, Hanley said.
The toolkit is web-based, with downloadable activities and tools for each day of the week. (For instance, the materials for Friday, Oct. 7, are titled "Choosing to be a role model.") It includes fact and tip sheets on the campaign's issues, downloadable graphics, and Spanish-language materials that will be available in September.