San Diego Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Every year there are a sizeable number of San Diego commercial truck accidents. Due to the size and mass of these vehicles, trucking accidents tend to be more violent and more apt to cause serious injuries and death due to the truck driver's negligence.

It is not surprising that one of the largest factors in preventing trucking accidents is the adoption of a "safety culture" by the trucking company. Recently, the Transporation Research Board published a study entitled called "The Role of Safety Culture in Preventing Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes". You can download a .pdf copy of the study here.

Amongst the study's findings are:

• Culture and safety have a clear connection. • Safety culture is best defined by an organization’s norms, attitudes, values, and beliefs regarding safety. • Effective top to bottom safety communication enhance safety culture. • Terms such as “accident” and “mishap” are often replaced with the terms “crash,” “wreck,” and other more appropriate, straightforward terms in many safe cultures. • Recognition for safe behavior is an effective component of safety culture. • Driver experience enhances a safety culture • Many levels of communicating safety culture are necessary

The report also recommends trucking companies take the following actions:

• Develop internal definitions of culture and safety. • Determine what omissions in the management system contribute to accidents. • Identify and dispel myths, such as the tendency to always blame weather or outside factors. • Conduct institutional safety knowledge development. • Define or redefine employee safety roles from top to bottom • Assess the effectiveness of safety communication and reengineer systems of safety communication. • Create or enhance a system of safety record data collection and analysis. • Develop or redevelop motivational tools, such as tying driver compensation and advancement to safety. • Improve driver retention.