An open letter to counselors about thinking safety and driving safely - Risk Management

Camping Magazine, May, 2002 by Ed Schirick

Dear Counselors,

This letter is addressed to all camp counselors whether you have responsibility for driving camp vehicles, have your own car at camp, borrow a car, or are just a passenger in a camp or other vehicle this summer. Please think safety and drive safely.

Unlike most articles you may have seen on this subject, we won t be quoting statistics from organizations like the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, the insurance industry, or Mothers Against Drunk Drivers -- just some plain, hard facts from the perspective and experience of an insurance underwriter and risk manager with over twenty-five years of experience in camping.

Here are the plain, hard facts. Auto, van, and bus accidents, which result in injury to people and damage to property, are caused by one or more of the following:

* unsafe conditions

* unsafe actions

* unsafe equipment, and/or

* poor judgment

Every summer one or more counselors, or campers, are seriously injured or die as the result of an automobile accident. Many of the severe injuries can be reduced or avoided, and some of the accidents prevented entirely if drivers and passengers think safety and drive safely Here are some thoughts to live by this summer!

Unsafe Conditions

Unsafe conditions occur when things change. Take the weather for example. Bright sun, fog, rain, haze, and other weather factors change the conditions in which you are driving. As the conditions change so does the risk. Keep this in mind, slow down, and make sure you bring your sunglasses on those bright summer days.

Other unsafe conditions include road debris and construction along the highways and rural roads. Tailgating, an unsafe action, combined with unsafe road conditions can result in a disastrous situation. Even though you have confidence in your driving ability --remember you are not out on the roads by yourself. Someone else's unsafe action combined with an unsafe condition, or unsafe equipment, could create the right circumstances for an accident and injury. You can control and reduce some of the risks of driving this summer. Take the time to consider how you can make a difference on the highways this summer.

Unsafe Actions

Another contributing factor is unsafe actions. An example of an unsafe action is aggressive driving. This includes speeding, tailgating, and weaving in and out of traffic. Inexperience often contributes to these unsafe actions.

Driving on rural camp roads presents different risks. Realize rural roads have soft, dirt shoulders -- an unsafe condition. If you get your tire off the road and onto the shoulder, the dirt can "grab" your tire, making a hasty move to pull the vehicle back onto the road is a potentially fatal, unsafe action. If you get the wheels of your vehicle on the soft shoulder, slow down, and gradually and slowly pull the vehicle back onto the road. A more aggressive response might cause the vehicle to flip. Besides, sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickups are also prone to roll-over accidents in this situation.

Just because the speed limit is posted at a maximum of fifty-five miles per hour, doesn't mean you have to travel at that speed -- especially at night. Another good reason to slow down on rural roads is the limited vision typical of winding, rural roads. Hot weather can create unsafe conditions malting the suburban and rural roads slippery, especially after these roads have been freshly oiled and chipped or resurfaced. A summer shower can also make a rural road treacherous and slippery. Urban, suburban, and rural roads may be subject to localized flooding. Rural roads are often poorly marked and narrow. They tend to be designed with a "crown," which helps aid drainage, but can cause your vehicle to handle very differently. Driving too fast to handle these unsafe conditions is definitely an unsafe action. Make sure you drive at appropriate speed for the road conditions.

Please take time to become familiar with the area around camp, the condition of the roads, and how your vehicle handles on them when it is full and when it is empty. Think safety and drive safely If you have primary camp vehicle driving responsibilities, expect to receive some training along these lines during orientation. You may also be asked to take a road test. Directors will want you to demonstrate your competency before they allow you to operate camp vehicles with children on board.

Unsafe Equipment

Safe equipment can become unsafe as the seasons pass. ACA's Transportation Standard, TR-16, requires a driver safety check of camp vehicles used to transport people that includes checking lights, tires, windshield and wipers, emergency flashers, horn, brakes, mirrors, and fluid levels. This is important.

Any unsafe equipment should be promptly reported to the camp or transportation director and fixed immediately. The vehicle shouldn't be used to transport people until the unsafe equipment is repaired.

Consider making a safety check of your own vehicle, as well as other vehicles you may use during the summer. Make sure to check tire pressure, too. Tire manufacturers recommend doing this once a month.