Safe driving is important in every situation, but for truck drivers it is essential to drive safely.  Keeping your drivers safe is important for many reasons, but one of the most important is to prevent truck spills.

These spills can lead to dangerous conditions in addition to significant losses of time and money.  Although safe driving should always be encouraged and practiced, sometimes accidents do happen.  With trucks you’d be amazed at just how strange an accident may be!

The Great Ice Cream Spill

In 2011, an Indiana semi-trailer full of Edy’s ice cream crashed leaving the roads covered in sticky, melted dairy.  Although no one was hurt in the accident, it did lead to a freeway closure and significant financial losses in unsold ice cream.

The Angry Bee Escape

Though ice cream could have made for a delicious spill, 14,000 spilled bees made for a very different situation.  This truck, transporting bees from California to North Dakota, led to several bee stings and many confused drivers, though no serious injuries were reported.

Follow the Red Dye Road

A Massachusetts Truck spill led to a three mile stretch of red road.  After the spill, the local traffic unintentionally transported red dye intended for mulch, completely coating the road in a bright red hue.  This accident made for an excruciating clean up, and the road remained red for quite some time.

Keeping Safe to Save the Hassle

When it comes to keeping your drivers safe, common sense can save a lot of trouble.  Often drivers remain over the speed limit on sharp turns, and for a truck that can lead to serious consequences.  Remind your drivers that everyone makes poor driving decisions from time to time, but safe driving can prevent serious accidents. 

Most importantly, instruct your drivers to:

• Make careful lane changes
• Avoid high speeds (even within the speed limit) on sharp turns
• Pay attention to the speeds of other drivers

These common sense reminders can prevent big trouble in the long run.

Even Bizarre Accidents Aren’t Worth the Trouble

Although you may rarely find your trucks carting thousands of angry bees or gallons of red dye, an accident could still cause quite a lot of problems.  Each of these accidents could have been avoided with safer driving practices, and your fleet will certainly benefit from an emphasis on accident-free driving.

To find out more tips for safe driving, visit the Fleetserv website!