COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Driving can be dangerous — for those who drive all day for a living or those who commute to and from an office job.
Workers' compensation insurance company Pinnacol Assurance released new data Wednesday showing motor vehicle fatalities outnumber other job-related deaths by a 2-1 margin.
The data shows the most dangerous times on the roads are 9-11 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to Pinnacol Assurance safety learning specialist Monica Cabrera.
“We theorized that in the morning, that caffeine is dwindling. And then at the end of the day, we have so many distractions, we're ready to get home. And that's when you're more likely to get hurt,” Cabrera said.
Pinnacol Assurance encourages companies to help by making safety a priority. Examples include making sure employees aren’t required to respond to emails or texts at all times, and implementing driver training, especially for people who don’t drive as their primary job.
“It's healthcare workers, it's police officers, it's non-commercial drivers, they're the ones that are more prone to getting injured, because they don't have as robust safety trainings when it comes to driving,” Cabrera said.
JFW Trucking in Commerce City has four dedicated safety directors.
JR Saenz, one of those four, said JFW Trucking has one-on-one coaching for drivers and technology in company vehicles that holds them accountable.
“The biggest tool that we have is our dash cam systems. They’re both outward and inward-facing,” Saenz said.
The cameras even know if a driver picks up their phone to take a call. Even professionals deal with distractions, JFW Driver Jaime “Jimmy” Villagrana said.
“It’s tough to not pay attention, sometimes I'll get a text from the family,” Villagrana said.
Even with safety technology in their vehicles, Villagrana siad drivers learn that they have to be focused on the road at all times.
“You have to just be watching for everything, scanning ahead, looking right, looking left, and looking for the two-wheelers, the four-wheelers, the 18-wheelers, the pedestrians, just everything,” Villagrana said.
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