Minnesota Employers Urged to Promote Traffic Safety During Drive Safely Work Week

ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Minnesota traffic safety advocates are encouraging employers to take part in a national campaign to prevent motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of work-related death. The Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) urges the state's employers to participate in Drive Safely Work Week, October 7 – 11, an annual observance that provides traffic safety resources for the workplace. This year's campaign theme is "Gear Up for Safe Driving: Mind, Body, Vehicle." 

Campaign materials illustrate how maintenance of mind, body and vehicle are all connected and essential components of being a safe driver. Materials, which can be used year-round, can be found at www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org/nets.

"Employers can make a difference," said Lisa Kons, coordinator of Minnesota NETS, a partnership of the Minnesota Safety Council and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety. "Whether people drive for work, or simply to and from their jobs, it's important for organizations to make safe driving a top priority."

Forty percent of lost work hours are the result of traffic-related injuries, Kons said, and motor vehicle crashes cost U.S. employers $60 billion annually.

The Drive Safely Work Week campaign is coordinated by the national Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. More than 2,500 organizations representing approximately 13 million employees are expected to participate.

For more information, employers can contact Minnesota NETS coordinator Lisa Kons at 651-228-7330/800-444-9150; lisa.kons@minnesotasafetycouncil.org.

SOURCE Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety