Have you experienced an aggressive driving experience, or unintentionally been an aggressive driver yourself? It’s far more common than you may think, and the consequences of aggressive driving behaviors including tailgating and abrupt turns - can be devastating.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 66 percent of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has reported that nearly 80 percent all drivers affirmed that they had experienced extreme anger, aggression, or road rage while driving. And roughly 78 percent of drivers admit to engaging in aggressive behavior themselves.

What Is Aggressive Driving?

Aggressive driving behaviors include tailgating, intentional quick stops, abrupt lane changes, offensive hand gestures, failing to yield the right-of-way, inappropriate high beam use, speeding to overcome a vehicle and cutting another driver off. This blog will focus on the avoidance of aggressive driving as both the source and the recipient.

It may not be the dog days of summer yet, but you would never know it. The climate outlook for the month of July, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, is that temperatures will be well above average across much of the country, spanning the Mountain West to the East Coast.

For service technicians, summer not only means dealing with increased pest pressure and full routes but dealing with the heat found in crawlspaces and attics. Knowing the signs of heat-related illnesses and training employees on ways to reduce their exposure to excessive heat can head off problems.

Heat Related Illnesses

Problems develop when the body’s cooling mechanisms do not work properly. For example, when the air temperature exceeds body temperature, the body cannot easily cool itself. If the air is humid, sweat also does not evaporate quickly. Sweat also does not evaporate from a person wearing protective gear making heat-related illness a concern in any weather, anywhere.

Heat-related illness takes several forms. Heat rash occurs when sweat ducts become clogged. Heat cramps are painful muscle spasms caused by the loss of electrolytes from heavy sweating. If you develop these conditions, immediately get out of the heat so you can rest.

As a driver or passenger in a vehicle that is involved in the violence of a crash, you are protected by layers of metal, airbags, seatbelts, and headrests. Imagine how much more likely you are to sustain serious injuries if you are involved in a crash with a motor vehicle as a pedestrian or bicyclist?

Employees at pest control companies operating in densely populated urban areas are used to avoiding food delivery people or messengers on bikes zipping along city streets. Combine that with more cities adding dedicated bike lanes for commuters and recreation enthusiasts, and the odds of an unwanted encounter between service vehicle and pedestrian and bicyclist increase.

When we accept the responsibility of operating a vehicle, we also accept responsibility for pedestrian and bicyclist safety when we share the road. As drivers, we should always keep in mind that a pedestrian or bicyclist could be in our vicinity and here are a few areas that require special precautions.

School Zones

Although it’s more common to encounter children walking to school in urban areas than rural, the concentration of pedestrian traffic is always high around schools. This zone has a reduced speed limit and increased fine amount for traffic citations to encourage drivers to slow down and be hyper aware of their surroundings.

Did you know there are more than 2,000 ladder-related injuries every day across the United States and that most ladder falls happen between 6 and 10 ft. off the ground?

Pest management professionals frequently climb ladders to perform inspections and services for a variety of pest issues from termites and occasional invaders to birds and nuisance wildlife.

Knowing how to safely use a ladder is necessary for technicians and providing regular and detailed ladder safety training is a responsibility of company owners and managers.

Planning for Ladder Safety

When a service call requires working on a ladder or at any elevation, there are variables that must be considered. These include the length of time the job will require; the materials and tools required to complete the job, and the worksite setup.

One in four vehicle crashes involve distracted driving, according to statistics compiled by the National Safety Council (NSC). Additional research from the NSC revealed that the top distracted driving behaviors included texting or talking on the phone, eating, drinking, and smoking.

The pest management industry sends thousands of technicians, inspectors and sales representatives out in a wide array of service vehicles every day to service customers. With every turn, stop or backing out of a driveway, there is a risk for an accident to occur. Therefore, it is vital for companies to develop and follow protocols for safe driving practices. 

Distracted driving accidents claim roughly 3,500 lives annually – an average of eight each day – and PestSure, a leader in driver safety training for pest management professionals, is committed to assisting companies create a safe driving culture.

“Statistics show that drivers using hands-free or handheld devices can fail to see 50 percent of their surroundings, and that can lead to a higher probability of a distracted driving crash,” said Linda Midyett, vice president and loss control director for PestSure. “Creating a plan for and providing regular training on driving safety best practices is critical to keeping employees, customers and the public safe and reducing claims.”

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and staying focused behind the wheel is essential to becoming a safe driver. Midyett offers the following five tips to reduce distracted driving accidents:

1.         Direct your attention to driving – nothing else.

2.         Stow and silence phones and electronic devices.

3.         Focus on positive driving behaviors.

4.         Prepare your vehicle settings before you depart.

5.         Give yourself enough time between appointments.

“We want to see employees safely return to their families each night,” added Midyett. “Becoming a more aware driver starts with having a plan and following that plan with consistent training and reinforcement.”