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Drive Safely Work Week Campaign Keeps Employees Safe on the Road
Increasing Congestion Makes Driving Risky Business While Driving Up Employer Costs

COLLEGE PARK, MD - Several hundred employers joined the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) this morning to launch the 8th annual Drive Safely Work Week (DSWW) campaign, October 4-8, 2004, at the University of Maryland Conference Center. The campaign launch is part of the 2004 Drive Safely Work Week Employer Symposium, an all day event urging employers to “make safe driving their business” in an environment where the workforce operates on a 24/7 cycle and at time when our nation’s traffic congestion has reached an all time high--fueling risky driving behavior by employees driving for work or simply commuting to and from work leaving employers vulnerable to staggering human and economic costs and liability risks.

The campaign week follows the recent release of the 2004 Urban Mobility Report conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) that issued a dim traffic report for the nation’s roadways. According to the TTI report, traffic congestion is growing in cities of all sizes, consuming more hours of the day, and affecting more travelers and shipment of goods than ever before. The average urban traveler is now stuck in traffic 46 hours a year compared to only 16 hours in 1982.

Veteran traffic reporter, Bob Marbourg, of WTOP Radio in Washington, DC—where traffic is ranked the third worst in the nation, has been providing drivers in the Washington metropolitan area with drive time reports for over 25 years. “Every week I report hundreds of crashes that not only profoundly impact the motorists involved but their families, their employers and their fellow motorists. As I see these crashes and the delays they cause, I want motorists to realize that their driving behavior has dangerous consequences that affect everyone they share the road with.”

Every year thousands of U.S. employers of all sizes and industry types participate in DSWW to improve the safety and health of their employees by preventing traffic-related crashes. This year’s campaign calls upon employers to make safe driving their business and asks drivers: How safe is YOUR driving? The campaign addresses five practical driving behaviors that every driver should follow to ensure their safety on the road as congestion continues to impact area employers and their employees, whether they drive for work or just to and from work.

• Add another second…Keep a safe following distance
• Steer clear of trouble…Expect bad decisions by other drivers
• Use good judgment…Just because you can doesn’t mean you should
• Look ahead…Be alert to changing traffic conditions
• Stay alert and focused…No one is crash-proof

Abbott Laboratories, a global-based healthcare company that employs more than 20,000 sales and services employees who drive during working hours, is participating in the campaign for the first time. “Drive Safely Work Week is an excellent opportunity for our company to educate and protect all of our employees and reach out to their families at the same time,” said Joe McKillips, Manager of Commercial Program Support for the Global Health, and Safety Organization at Abbott Laboratories. “It is through this targeted education and awareness effort that we can help make an immediate and measurable difference in the lives of our employees and their family members,” he said.