Network of Employers for Traffic Safety

Volume 5, Number 3 - Summer 2002

One of the strengths of the Safe Communities approach is the ability to reach a community through its own institutions and organizations. Such participants as law enforcement agencies, public health departments, service groups, churches, and youth organizations bring with them ways to reach different segments of a community, thus broadening and deepening a coalition's impact. But, as Dan Vartanian of the Michigan Office of Highway Planning points out, "For the most part, employers have not been involved in Safe Communities programs-yet employers can broaden a coalition's outreach." Vartanian speaks from an especially knowledgeable position, for he is also the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) Coordinator for Michigan. Michigan, like other states, has found that partnerships between NETS affiliates and Safe Communities coalitions can provide benefits for each organization and its constituencies.

NETS's mission is to prevent traffic injuries to employees while they are on the job or during their commutes, and to employees and their families during travel unrelated to the workplace. Kathy Lusby-Treber, NETS Executive Director, says, "Regardless of when the crash occurred, if an employee or a member of the employee's family is injured, the employee is often away from the job or not 100-percent productive. This is a loss to the company." Injuries result in absenteeism, increased health care costs, emotional stress, and lowered productivity.

NETS provides support, materials, technical assistance, and other resources to a network of 25 state coordinators, like Dan Vartanian, who work with individual companies or groups of employers to implement traffic safety programs at the company, local, and state levels. State coordinators use NETS resources and materials to train company fleet, health and safety, human resource, and loss control managers on methods for implementing traffic safety management programs for employees. They also coordinate their activities with other efforts, including Safe Communities coalitions and community policing programs. Dan Vartanian points out, "Employers can bring a lot of resources to the table and be a huge benefit in helping coalitions become self-sustaining."

In Michigan, NETS and the Office of Highway Safety Planning are sponsoring two pilot projects (in Allegan and St. Clair counties) to demonstrate the benefits of such collaboration. In Georgia, Safe Communities coalitions and NETS programs solidified their relationship by having representatives on each other's advisory boards. Franka Young, Safe Communities Coordinator at the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, says, "It's always important for Safe Communities coalitions to have the support of businesses. A relationship between Safe Communities and NETS is a win-win situation, a great partnership, and a prudent use of limited resources." Other NETS programs that can be used in workplaces or communities include the following:

• Distracted Driving Tool Kit: This kit contains all the materials necessary for an employer to implement a training program enabling employees to identify potential distractions while driving and to develop techniques and strategies to manage these distractions. The kit includes a Leader's Guide, a video, a Rate-Your-Risk Quiz, incentive items, and other materials.
• Novice Driver's Road Map: This publication helps a parent or other adult guide a teen or novice driver through eight practice sessions. It includes a teen/parent driving contract as well as information on being a positive role model, what mistakes to expect from a new driver, and how to select a driving school. A Road Map CD-ROM that can be used by teens will be available later this year. NETS encourages employers to make the Road Map available to employees with children approaching driving age.

To download NETS materials or locate the NETS coordinator in your state, visit NETS on the Web at www.trafficsafety.org/. To arrange for a NETS representative to speak to your organization, call National NETS at (202) 452-6005. Dan Vartanian can be reached at (517) 333-5322.

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