The state has not had 400 fatalities in a year since 2015, and not that many this early in the year since 2007, DPS said. At the current pace, Minnesota could record about 475 traffic fatalities this year, the most since the 510 in 2007, DPS said. Traffic deaths are up 23% through Monday compared with the same date last year. I hope everybody pays attention to these deaths as much as other deaths." But all deaths, he said, have the "sound of hearts shattering … the same cry. "If we were talking about 400 deaths from other causes, maybe there would be an adverse reaction from the public," he said. Hodges, the DPS assistant commissioner, wonders if people take motor vehicle fatalities as seriously as other types of deaths, such as shootings. This year's training takes place next week, the company said. The company also has a safe driving policy as part of its "Put People First, Zero Harm" safety commitment and once a year conducts training from courses it has developed. The company enacted a no-cellphone-use policy while driving in 2017. Others, like Minnetonka-based Cargill, had already been preaching safe driving to employees. I need them to be aware and be top of mind." It's important to get people home to their families safely. "What you do outside of work is as important as what you do while at work. The effort, in partnership with the Sheriff's Office, will continue over the next few weeks and will include a safety newsletter later this week, Schumann said. She learned about the Safety Council's new campaign and immediately downloaded e-mails and social media blasts and sent them to the county's 1,300 workers. When cars crash into guardrails, "the sound is horrific," she said. Have that conversation and send a valuable message."īecky Schumann, the safety and risk management coordinator for Olmsted County in southeastern Minnesota, said she's seen aggressive driving behavior skyrocketing on Hwy. "If they are traveling and are injured or killed in a crash, it affects them as an employer. "Employees are their most valuable asset," said Lisa Kons, the council's traffic safety program manager.
The council will host a free webinar "Traffic Safety - Have the Conversation" at 11:30 a.m. That's what led the Safety Council to develop a slew of resources employers can use to promote safe driving behaviors. My family plans are on hold."Īasen estimates that as many as 40,000 Minnesota motorists have been hurt in crashes this year. It feels like a knife cutting my brain out.
Now he suffers headaches and wonders if he'll be able to get back to work as a lineman for Xcel Energy. Before the crash, Schmidt, 33, liked to boat and hunt and was planning to start a family with his wife. He suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was rear-ended by a semitrailer truck in March. Matt Langer, head of the State Patrol.Īll that has translated to police delivering more death notifications to families, and crash victims who survive suffering from life-changing situations, officials said. "Troopers have never seen driving behavior this poor," said Col.
Speeding is not the only transgression playing into what law enforcement and others have dubbed a "traffic safety crisis." Over the past 18 months, a growing number of drivers have also exhibited other risky behaviors - driving while impaired, not wearing seat belts and being distracted behind the wheel. Speed manslaughters," said DPS Assistant Commissioner Booker Hodges. More than 30% of this year's traffic deaths - 124 - have been speed-related, making it the leading factor, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS). Last week the council launched a new "Speed Counts, Slow Down" initiative that encourages employers to use e-mails, newsletters, posters and social media blasts from the council to educate their workers about the dangers and consequences of speeding. It's a great way to reach a lot people at one time. Messages from employers "reach them, their family, their neighbors, their friends. "Employers have tremendous reach," said Minnesota Safety Council President Paul Aasen. Roads have changed in a "tragic and horrific way," said Mike Hanson, director of the Office of Traffic Safety, leading traffic safety officials to augment traditional enforcement campaigns by leaning on employers to help curb dangerous driving.
It also comes as law enforcement has seen a huge uptick in speeding and other risky driving behaviors that coincided with the onset of the pandemic. The tactic comes as Minnesota closes in on 400 traffic deaths for the year and is on pace to record its most traffic fatalities since 2007.
Public safety officials alarmed by the dramatic rise in fatal motor vehicle crashes in Minnesota are turning to employers for help in spreading the word about the need for safe driving.