Jenny from Minnesota tells her story:
Jenny from Minnesota tells her story: In the spring of 1998, I was in a car accident where I was going too fast on a gravel road and ended up wrapping my car around a telephone pole. I was told that I slid sideways down the road for a bit before hitting the telephone pole. The pole was right underneath my back when the car finally stopped and the car s steering wheel was jammed up against my stomach. I don't remember any of it, but I was lucky that I was driving with my seat reclined a little.
Can you find the telephone pole in this picture?
Jenny Continued The steering wheel missed both of my legs. My seat back broke backwards so I avoided crushing my head on the ceiling which fell down. The driver s side was facing up towards the sky. At this point I wiggled out of my seat and pushed myself off the ceiling. I fell out of the back passenger window onto the ground. Can you find the telephone pole?
Jenny Continued To make a long story short, people who passed by and saw my accident called an ambulance and I was brought to a nearby hospital. The doctors decided to fly me to the main County Medical Center. All this happened on a Thursday night, on my way home from work. In the hospital they found out that I had six broken ribs, five broken vertebrae, a badly sprained ankle, a cut up tongue, needed stitches in my elbow, chest tubes in each lung, and other various things. I was lucky! After stabilizing me, I was not in a life threatening situation. I stayed in the hospital only (ONLY!) 10 days.
What Does it Mean to Drive Defensively? Defensive driving is a technique you can apply while operating your own or an agency vehicle, to greatly lessen your chance of being involved in an accident. Defensive driving assumes first of all that you are a good driver, and will not cause an accident yourself through poor judgment, carelessness or simple inexperience.
What do you check before taking out an agency vehicle? Mirrors Registration / Inspections Sticker Tires Head lights Windshield Wipers Vehicle damage License Plates Horn Breaks Fluid levels (Gas, oil, break fluid, coolant)
What Can Effect Your Driving Ability? Radio Speed Other drivers Weather Environment Cell Phones Being Tired Alcohol Other passengers in your vehicle. Being under the influence of prescription medications.
Pay Attention!! I never saw him! is the most common excuse heard after a collision. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6icrz4aipw
Beware of Intersections!! Intersections are one of the most dangerous areas for any driver. One often quoted statistic is that over 81% of all city collision involving injury or death occur within signallight intersections. The majority of collisions at controlled intersections happen within 4 seconds of a light change.
Don t Run Red!! There are two types of red light runners The daydreamer or distracted driver who just does not see it. The aggressive inpatient driver who accelerates on the yellow signal instead of stopping. If you get a yellow light, STOP!! Red light runners kill hundreds and injure thousands every year.
Don t Speed!! Nearly 33% of all traffic fatalities are related to excessive speed. Speed also increases the risk of serious injury in a crash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajfgezork8o
What happens when you get a ticket in your own or agency vehicle? YOU MUST INFORM HUMAN RESOURSES ASAP!!!!
You Got Into an Accident Now What? Category By yourself in an Agency/own vehicle With an Individual Require Medical Treatment Accident Reporting Form Employee Incident/Accident Report Police Report Vehicle Accident Report Form Accident Reporting Form Employee Incident/Accident Report Police Report QA Incident Report Vehicle Accident Report Form Accident Reporting Form Employee Incident/Accident Report Accident Investigation Report QA Incident Report Vehicle Accident Report Form All reports regarding an accident should be sent to the Benefits specialist in HR. Incident Reports (147 or GER) should be sent to QA.
MV 104 The MV- 104 form is filled out when involved an motor vehicle accident. This form needs to be filled out properly with all information provided. 1. Drivers information 2. Registrant (Who is the car registered to?) 3. Vehicle Damage (Describe the damage to the vehicle and draw a diagram of what happened.) 4. Accident Location 5. List all who were involved 6. Insurance information 7. Sign and Date the form Have your manager check all areas of the form!
CSDD Form: When involved in an vehicle accident or injury at work, you must fill out the Community Services Employee/Property Incident Report. You must list the following information: The employee involved Location of the incident Date and Time it happened Reported the incident to the proper person (Supervisor, on- call, Benefits Specialist, Building and Property) What type of injury Describe what happened Any witnesses Could have it been prevented Medical follow up and or exposures to Blood Born Pathogens Sign and Date the form ** Please note your supervisor will conduct a supervisor investigation form
Mileage Forms When filling out a mileage form make sure all areas are filled in properly. Such as: Date Time Mileage reading (Begin & Ending) Beginning gas gauge reading From To Purchased Gas? (Y/ Amount) Ending gas gauge reading Driver initials Vehicle Safety Check? (N = Nothing to Report) ** When going to a destination you must fill in the whole address and start a new entry from that given destination *CSDD bills government agencies for services that were provided, so there are audits that are done on mileage forms as well. This is just like daily logs / documentation. This essentially means that this is how CSDD gets our funding for the agency.
Gas Cards for Agency Vehicles Please make sure that all gas cards are in the vehicle. The card should be stored with the vehicle information. Everyone that works in residential receives a special pin to use a gas card Make sure you do not share pin numbers.
Emotions Emotions affect our every thought and action. We are not able to separate ourselves from our emotional state. We drive as we are.
Mental Effects The two mental effects of emotions are: Distraction from the driving task. Our thoughts tend towards the cause of emotion. Reaction to events around us. If we are upset, we may tend to react in a more aggressive manner to others around us.
Physical Effects of Emotions We are affected by emotions physically as well: Heart rate increases. Your body may release adrenaline as it prepares for a fight. Digestion slows down.
Emotions: Effects on a Driver s Concentration Emotions range from highs to lows, impact our ability to drive Anger Anxiety Fear Depression Discouragement Excitement
Ways to Reduce the Effect of Emotions on Driving: Recognize in yourself when you are not at your best. Take a break or even let someone else drive. Recognize that other highway users are emotional people too and that they may have had a very bad day. Drive in a organized manner. Use correct driving procedures so that when your mind is not fully concentrating on the driving task, you are still : Following correctly, Going a proper speed, Using your turn signals, Traveling in the right lane, etc. out of habit.
What Make Someone an Aggressive Driver? Being late for work Not following rules of the road Having a bad day Challenging other drivers, by making eye contact Racing
Means of Reducing Risk While Driving: Select a safe vehicle. Slow down. Increase following distance. Always drive with a seatbelt. Use headlights day and night. Select the proper lane for travel. Avoid high congestion areas.
Alcohol as a Sedative Alcohol is a sedative. It affects many areas of the body from mental functions to relaxing muscles and reflexes.
Temporary Limitations: Fatigue Fighting Temporary Fatigue Get rest Avoid heavy, fatty foods. Do not drink alcohol. Make sure there is a lots of air flow in the car. Wear sunglasses to cope with glare. Take turns driving. Stop and take frequent breaks. A tired driver is more of a threat on the road then someone who has been under the influence of alcohol.
Last but not least!! Always remember to: Turn off the radio Turn off wipers Make sure no individuals are still on the van
Perception Word Color Test In this test DO NOT READ the words, say aloud the COLOR of each word. YELLOW BLUE ORANGE BLACK RED GREEN PURPLE YELLOW RED ORANGE GREEN BLACK BLUE RED PURPLE GREEN BLUE ORANGE
Defensive Driving Test