NETSTalk Now: Driving Change

With nearly half of all industrial accidents with injuries being alcohol-related and 1-in-10 U.S. commercial drivers testing positive for alcohol (the highest rate worldwide), Michael Watson joins the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety to discuss how SOBRsafe™ has developed a proprietary, touch-based solution to this problem. From employee retention, reduced insurance costs and most importantly, saving lives, SOBRsafe™ is truly creating a culture of prevention to remove alcohol risk from our roadways and workplaces. Click here to learn more about SOBRsafe™ or you can reach out to Michael directly at michael.watson@sobrsafe.com.

Impaired driving and alcohol use has increased throughout the pandemic, with statistics showing a startling reversal of the decrease previously seen in impaired driving fatalities. Furthermore, with the increased use of recreational cannabis, what is the impact of that on impaired driving and the impact for employers with employees who consume those substances.Joined by Darrin Grondel, Vice President of Traffic Safety and Government Relations at The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, learn about what employers and fleet managers can do to address impaired driving. From his early career with the Washington State Patrol through to his national leadership on the executive committee of the Governors Highway Safety Association, Dr. Grondel has contributed to numerous national projects related to drug-impaired driving, autonomous vehicles, and national strategic efforts to reduce traffic fatalities to zero.Click here to learn about The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, including access to their National Drunk Driving Statistics Map by State. Click here to learn about the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving, including access to their State-by-State map of impaired driving laws, including cannabis specific laws. For Employer policies and procedures, check out The National Safety Council for Safety Training, Workplace Safety and Roadway Safety resources, and the soon to be released Leadership Road Safety Playbook by NETS.

A 1995 bus crash in Turkey changed the trajectory of Rochelle Sobel's life, who would become the founder and President of the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT), a nonprofit organization that promotes road travel safety throughout the world via education and advocacy. Rochelle discusses how road crashes are both predictable and preventable, diving into the number of factors that contribute to road crashes, from poor road infrastructure and management, non-road worthy vehicles, unenforced or non-existent traffic laws and more. ---------------------------This episode is dedicated to the life and memory of Aron Sobel.