5 Ways to Get Back on Track After a Workplace Accident

Workplace incidents are unplanned, undesired events that hinder your workload and may cause injury or damage to company property. Numerous factors can lead to workplace accidents, from overexertion to mishandling materials, to a truck driving incident outside of your control.

As for driving a truck for a living, it can be both a good thing and a challenge.

Unfortunately, being on the road for a job drastically increases the probability that you’ll most likely be involved in a traffic accident. It can be difficult to recover from an accident – if you’re lucky. Although you may regain your physical health, the incident can have lasting mental and emotional effects.

If you find yourself involved in a workplace accident, here are 5 tips you can utilize to regain your confidence and get back on track:

Don’t fall into the trap of blaming yourself, the vehicle, or other parties involved. Driving a vehicle can be dangerous no matter the precautions you take. You could be doing all the right things to prevent an accident, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided.

The best way to improve your mental well-being is by staying positive. Experiencing a car accident is stressful but it can also provide a perspective that other drivers lack, making you a better driver in the long run. Practice the “1 into 3 method”, start by replacing any one negative thought with three positive statements. From a psychological perspective, thinking with a more positive outlook can improve your mind, body, and spirit.

Talking to someone about your accident and sorting through your feelings is crucial to your well-being. Start by looking for a mentor at or outside of your work, they will understand where you’re coming from as a driver and help talk through your emotions.

Some workplaces have a referral process for these types of relationships, or other programs in place to help their employees who suffer from accidents. Explore all of your options and find the one that works best for you.

Speak to your mentor about the positive and negative aspects of the accident and the effect it’s had on you. It’s important to be honest with every conversation. Listen to your mentor’s suggestions for the best results, and take it day by day.

An accident will often force you to reevaluate your driving habits. You want to reinforce your good habits while pinpointing the bad ones. Speak to your company about safe-driving systems that might be in place, such as point-based programs. For every trip deemed as a safe drive, you can accumulate points that might add up to a reward or other benefit.

Some companies may require driving school after any accident. Consider the class as a positive aspect of the situation. You might learn a few tips that will help you and others on the road.

Be sure to sign up for any classes that pertain to your career. Use that information as a way to guide your driving in the future. Many companies offer free training or referrals to local programs.

By looking ahead to proactive solutions, you’re taking control of the drive. Further incidents will be less likely in your future.

Don’t forget to install recommended safety features on your truck. From cameras to warning signals, any safety item is designed to help you on the road.

As you look at your next driving route, give it a thorough examination, as well as check those brakes and verify the steering system’s stability. You want the way and time frame to be as reasonable and safe as possible. You’ll be ready for anything with a clear vision of the path ahead. A road accident can be the greatest lesson in a driver’s lifetime, so learn from the incident and move forward with your life. You and those on the road around you are more valuable than a quick turnaround time.

Observing your driving routes and ensuring you have all safety precautions in place is one part of the equation, where the other part takes adequate record-keeping and reporting into consideration.

There are multiple options you can consider to document your workplace observations, rules, and regulations; this is where a platform becomes very useful (and no, Excel spreadsheets don’t count).

Software, in particular, is serving as an advanced tool and is now being tailored made and therefore will enable you to specify what data you need to help make sound logical business decisions regarding corporations or specific projects.

There is a great variety of software systems to capture and manage data for environmental, compliance, health and safety, and risk needs. A platform solution can make your work a lot easier, save you from spending too much time on documentation and reporting, streamline and simplify your processes. Having a platform to assist you in managing these, such as INX Software, can also help in providing greater visibility and monitoring capabilities. This way you have all your data, all your driving observations, your driver details, and information all in one place – a single source of truth.

An integrated software solution such as INX Software can be the answer to your workforce management needs. INX offers a range of products to cover areas across people and contractor management, logistics, risk, compliance, OHS, environmental, stakeholders. What makes INX different from other software is their integrated solutions approach and their product end-to-end cover.

If you’d like to find out more about INX Software and their solutions, go here >

AnnaBeth Rouse is a contributing writer and media specialist for GoPivot Solutions. She regularly produces content for a variety of career and human resource blogs.

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