Rear Ends are Growing

STEVE MUELLER
Relationship Manager at HNI

…and it’s not just because the Girl Scouts made a killing in the office this spring.

Every year, we examine our losses across our customer base to look for trends and changes to be addressed. As we looked at data from the last several years, we noticed rear end collisions are one of the fastest growing types of claims – both in terms of frequency and cost. Looking_Back_on_Trends

In 2012, rear ends ranked fourth in frequency. Two years, later they ranked number two, second only to backing claims. Over the same time period, rear end claims jumped from fourth on the severity list, all the way to number one.

What’s happening with rear end claims at the national level

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows similar results to ours on a national scale. Rear end crashes account for 28% of all crashes and happen every 8 seconds in the US, with a high percentage of these including bodily injury.

This combination of growth in both frequency and severity has definitely grabbed our attention. Today’s professional drivers have a lot distractions both inside and outside of the truck – and if we want to see different results, we need to do something differently.

Let’s fight this wicked problem together

Over the next several months, you may notice us sharing more content than usual focusing on distracted driving and on overall safety for the trucking industry. We feel strongly that this is something every company should be raising awareness around and hope to share resources to help you do so.

Don’t wait until you have a claim or problem within your fleet – be proactive in shoring up your safety efforts. Please don’t hesitate to call if you would like help developing a plan.

What’s worked for you in getting safety messages to “stick”? What questions do you have around safety and communication? Any best practices you can share with others? Let us know in the comments!

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