Source: Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association (CSDA), Clearwater, Fla.
Through its Alliance partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, CSDA has released a Best Practice document, CSDA-OBP-1009 Aggressive Driving and Road Rage, to help concrete sawing and drilling professionals avoid confrontations in their daily work and personal commutes.
“Many CSDA contractors travel around the country in work trucks, and sometimes they and other road users do not understand the extra time needed to maneuver such large vehicles or the distance required to bring these vehicles safely to a stop,” says CSDA Safety Committee Chair Kellie Vazquez. “By not understanding these factors, drivers can quickly become aggressive toward each other. In extreme cases, something as simple as not using a turn signal can result in an act of road rage. We felt it was important to educate the industry about how to steer clear of these situations.”
American Automobile Association data shows aggressive driving behaviors are a factor in up to 56 percent of fatal crashes. When that percentage is applied to the average number of fatal road accidents across the U.S. each year—around 38,000 based on National Transportation Highway Safety Administration data—it is clear that everyone should be doing what they can to eradicate aggressive driving and road rage from the nation’s roadways, CSDA contends.
The tenth document the CSDA-OSHA Alliance has released since 2006, and the third road-related Best Practice, CSDA-OBP-1009 details factors that can lead to aggressive driving and road rage, then explains some of the ways employers and employees can reduce instances of either occurring during their time on the road. Copies of the Best Practice documents can be downloaded by clicking here, or obtained from CSDA, 727/577-5004; [email protected].