5 Key Habits of a Safety Conscious Company

The attached article is courtesy of EMC Insurance Companies

Safety in the workplace isn’t just a matter telling employees to behave safely. It’s much more complex. It involves changing old habits, developing a safety program, identifying responsibilities, and creating checklists for equipment, facility and fleet tasks. Other key components of safety include ongoing training and testing efforts, reviewing accident data (including near misses), keeping up on housekeeping and ensuring sufficient safety budgets.

So how do you determine which tasks—or habits—are most critical to safety in your workplace? Andy Benson, EMC Senior Risk Improvement Representative, suggests five key habits that are common among companies with impressive safety records. If your organization practices each of these, you’ll be primed for safety success. Click here to continue reading.

Real Life Lessons From Truck Drivers Injured at Work: Get Out, Get Under, or Get In?

This article is courtesy of Midwestern Insurance Alliance

Tornadoes are unpredictable, inevitable, damaging and sometimes deadly. Experiencing one is a very humbling event. You get to see just how powerful nature can be and just how helpless we can be. In addition, the outcome of a tornado is virtually unexplainable. One structure may remain undamaged while all others surrounding it are totally demolished.

With rapidly improving technology, the National Weather Service has radically improved their ability to predict the possibility of tornadic activity; even so, they still can’t definitely state when or where a tornado will occur. Most often, it literally comes down to a matter of seconds of notification and subsequent reaction.

This presents a very dangerous situation for long haul truck drivers. One item to consider is the fact that the driver may not be listening to a local/regional radio broadcast, consequently missing out on the local weather situation. In addition, if the driver is aware of an impending tornado he most likely is not familiar with the immediate area and may not know where the best place of refuge may be. Most often the choices are stay in your truck, get out and lie in a ditch, or seek shelter under an overpass.

This was the very situation that Linnie faced early last summer. He was driving east through Kansas (tornado alley) one afternoon when a tornado suddenly developed. Click here to read Linnie’s story.

Safely Reopen Your Business After COVID-19: Fleet Operations

This article is courtesy of Harford Mutual. Contact Nansemond Insurance Agency to learn what Harford Mutual can do for you.

Businesses are starting to reopen, and they’re doing so with the safety of their employees and customers in mind. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 is expected to remain a public health threat. Community containment has helped to slow the spread of this disease throughout the country, and we will need to continue to focus on these efforts. As our country slowly reinstates parts of the workforce, critical strategies need to be considered in anticipation of returning to business operations. Click here to learn more about potential exposures and what you can do to stop the spread.

“Give ’em a BRAKE” — Road Construction Safety and Defensive Driving Tips

This article is courtesy of Accident Fund Insurance Company of America.

When drivers get behind the wheel, they take responsibility for maintaining control of 2-ton machines that can easily cover a distance of more than 80 feet in one second. Operation of a vehicle must be taken seriously. Unsafe traveling speeds, distracted driving and driver fatigue and are three of the biggest culprits of unnecessary vehicle-related accidents and fatalities. Click here to continue reading.

Entering and Exiting the Cab

This article is courtesy of Acuity Insurance

FMCSA Regulation §399.207: Any person entering or exiting the cab or accessing the rear portion of a high-profile COE truck or truck-tractor shall be afforded sufficient steps and handhold and/or deck plates to allow the user to have at least three limbs in contact with the truck or truck-tractor at any time. Click here for helpful steps to maintain three-point contact.

Real Life Lessons From Truck Drivers Injured at Work: An Excedrin Headache

This article is courtesy of Midwestern Insurance Alliance

Plop – Plop – Fizz – Fizz – Oh what a relief it is!! Those of us old enough to remember back before shoelaces were replaced by Velcro and one of the requirements for promotion to the 2nd grade was to be able to tie our shoes will recall this advertisement jingle. It had to do with the funny looking cartoon character whose head was an Alka-Seltzer tablet (similar to the Green Bay Packer cheese heads). He was encouraging everyone to take an Alka-Seltzer tablet for their headaches. Likewise, the competing Excedrin product was advertised for headache relief and their marketing became so successful that most of us now refer to headaches as an Excedrin headache. Goes to show just how effective, or mentally controlling, an advertisement can be. The funny thing about these commercials was not funny to Zack a few months ago when he got injured. In fact, the accident was far from funny and could have been life threatening. Click here to read Zack’s story.

Thank a Trucker

Americans appreciate the job truckers are doing for us! Great West Casualty Company has insured trucks for many year and produced the below video tribute. We are proud to represent Great West Casualty Company and are proud of the job you do each day!

#ThankATrucker | Great West Casualty Company 188 views

No Workers’ Compensation Awarded to Truck Driver Injured in Motor Vehicle Accident After Failing to Wear Seat Belt

The attached article is courtesy of: Setliff Law, P.C. 4940 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060; Phone: (804)377-1276; Email: pschurig@setlifflaw.com 

Everyone knows to wear a seat belt. Some cars even have sticker warnings, while other car systems flash warning signals when the car starts, but how many drivers adhere to these warnings? Who is at fault if someone doesn’t wear a seat belt and gets hurt? Is it the employer? Is it the employee? Click here to read more.

Risk Management Round Table: COVID-19 and the Transportation Industry

This podcast is courtesy of: East Coast Risk Management 7562 State Route 30 North Huntingdon, PA 15642; Phone: (724)864-8745
 
Click here to listen to a podcast where East Coast Risk Management’s Manager of DOT Services, Mike Kuiros explains how the transportation industry has changed due to COVID-19.

As we all navigate our way through these difficult times, Nansemond Insurance is here to help. The attached SBA Owners Guide to the CARES Act can provide you steps in taking advantage of the relief funds available for you (including the loan application procedures). Grants may be available now for your business, please refer to the ‘Economic Injury Disaster Loans & Emergency Economic Injury Grants’ section starting on page 7 of the SBA Owners Guide. Click here for the SBA Owners Guide. Click here for additional information on the CARES Act.

Tax Relief and COVID-19:  Federal Tax Credits for Small and Midsize Businesses to Recover Costs of Coronavirus-Related Leave

The attached article is courtesy of: Setliff Law, P.C. 4940 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060; Phone: 804-377-1276; Email: pschurig@setlifflaw.com 

On March 20, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor) announced that small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave to their employees.

The Act will give all American businesses with fewer than 500 employees funds to provide employees with paid leave, either for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. The legislation will enable employers to keep their workers on their payrolls, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus. Click here to read more.

Independent Contractor

The Independent Contractor model is under attack across the country causing disruption, confusion and in many instances loss of work for the tens of millions who enjoy its freedom and flexibility. From nurses to truckers to those trying to raise a family, the independent contractor role is vital to the American lifestyle.

Those that drive for a living have had a history of issues with the classification of workers as Independent Contractors. California, New York and New Jersey have deemed the driving/trucking industry to be one of the abusers of the Independent Contractor model and are attempting to prohibit that relationship. Click here to read more.

6 Trucking in America: Senate Hearing

February 4, 2020 – The Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety held a hearing to discuss the State of Trucking in America. With various stakeholders representing the trucking industry, committee members heard expert testimony for and against the issues of the day and questioned the panel of experts on those specific hot topics. There wasn’t much in the way of consensus amongst the panel of experts, but the fact that the Committee heard from all sides was important. Several of trucking’s top priorities were discussed: Hours of Service (HOS); truck technologies i.e., automatic emergency braking, speed limiters and universal electronic identifiers; the Drive Safe Act; the industry’s driver shortage; and the 7 bands of the 5.9gh spectrum.

Hours Of Service (HOS) – To illustrate the inflexibility of a one-size-fits-all regulatory approach, the hauling of live animals was highlighted by Jake Parnell, Manager, Cattlemen’s Livestock Market; Director, Livestock Marketing Association. As noted by Parnell, often times a driver of livestock can reach a destination within the HOS limits, but in those instances where it is not possible, the safety of the animals is a key concern. Having livestock sit in a truck for 10 hours while the diver rests can be a grave scenario for the animals, costly for the business and unsafe for the driver. FMCSA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the HOS requirements and has taken public comments. Click here to learn more about this hearing.

S.A.F.E.: Slip and Fall Elimination Salting for Winter Safety

This article is courtesy of Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. 

When it comes to slip and fall prevention, salting and shoveling are key areas to pay attention to in any climate — even down South! As you get ready to complete these tasks, think about doing so safely in order to prevent injuries. With this in mind, we encourage you to remember the following tips when completing salting, snow removal and other winter-weather activities. Click here to continue reading.

Coronavirus Spreading

This article is courtesy of Selective Insurance. 

The spread of 2019-nCoV, better known as the Wuhan Coronavirus, has been widely reported on since the first case emerged in December 2019. Selective cares about the impact of risk to you as a business owner, so we’d like to share some information to help protect you, your staff and your operations. Click here to learn more.