Poster of the Month, November 2015: Prepare for winter driving with some emergency travel essentials

BAD WEATHER BASICS

With winter just around the corner, it's a good time to put together some emergency travel essentials

• Warm, waterproof clothing and boots
• Map, in case of unexpected diversion
• De-icer, scraper and snow shovel
• Ready-to-eat food and a warm drink
• Spare glasses or contact lenses
• First-aid kit and essential medication
• Emergency contact numbers
• Mobile phone with charger
• Torch with spare batteries
• Cash and credit cards     

November's Poster of the Month is a reminder to drivers about preparing for the winter driving conditions.

When you consider all the things that could happen, you realise how having some travel essentials in your vehicle could really help in an emergency.

Your vehicle could break down.

According to the AA, the number of vehicle breakdowns nearly doubles during particularly cold spells. 

Increased use of lights, wipers and heating put extra strain on the battery, which explains why battery problems are a major cause of breakdowns. 

No battery means no heat and no lights, so pack warm clothing and a torch. A charged mobile with emergency numbers and a map could help you contact your breakdown service and let them know where you are.

With an increase in breakdowns and accidents, you might be waiting for a while. So make sure you have food and drink with you, just in case.

You could be involved in an accident.

Road accidents increase during winter weather.

In icy conditions stopping distances are 10x the distance needed to stop on a dry road and information from Kia states that 48% of winter road accidents are a result of skidding.

Again, emergency phone contacts are important in case you have an accident. Check the emergency settings on your phone and make sure your preferences are set correctly.

List your emergency contact under the name 'ICE' on your mobile so the emergency services can find it easily, if they need to.

You could be diverted from your route.

Accidents and extreme weather can cause road closures and diversions. If you are affected, make sure you have access to a map or sat-nav to help you find your destination.

You could be stranded.

Every winter we see news footage of cars abandoned on the side of the road. What if that happened to you?

It's a good idea to carry money/credit cards, spare contact lenses and essential medication in case you can't get home.

Your vehicle could be stuck in snow.

If you get stuck, a shovel, some de-icer and an ice scraper could help to get you moving again.

Kodiak Industrial produces posters, like the one featured, to maintain safety and wellbeing.

Our database features many posters on safe driving, during winter and throughout the year.

If you would like to find out more, or purchase posters for your workplace, please visit our website or call us on 01530 456 000.

 

Poster of the Month, February 2015: Changes in the law on drug driving

DRUG DRIVING — the law is changing

From March 2015, it will be a criminal offence to drive with more than trace amounts of drugs in your system

Offenders will face a £5,000 fine, up to six months in prison and an automatic 12-month driving ban

Drugs and driving are a dangerous combination

February's Poster of the Month concerns changes to the law on drugs and driving. These changes will take effect from March 2015.

Taking illegal drugs increases the risk of a serious or fatal crash.

It is estimated that drug driving could be responsible for up to 200 deaths every year. The effects of illegal drugs are unpredictable as they are unregulated and affect individual people differently.

According to Brake, the risk of a serious or fatal crash increases:

• up to 4 times if the driver has taken cannabis;
• 2–10 times if the driver has taken cocaine / illegal opiates;
• 5–30 times if the driver has taken multiple drugs; and
• more than 23 times if the driver has combined illegal drugs with alcohol

All of these statistics apply when compared to a driver who is drug-free and sober.

Medical drugs can also be risky.

Medical drugs can impair driving ability by causing drowsiness or affecting the driver's vision, coordination or concentration.

Specific examples include:

• cough and cold medicines
• decongestants 
• sleeping tablets
• anti-histamines 
• anti-inflammatories
• anti-depressants
• anti-biotics
• epilepsy medication
• hayfever and allergy relief

Medication that affects a person's ability to drive or operate machinery is required to carry a warning. However, many drivers are unaware that such medications carry a risk. Research shows that one in six UK drivers ignores such warnings or fails to check the label at all.

Kodiak posters regularly cover drug driving — including both illegal and medical drugs. 

If you need posters on these subjects, we have a wide range available via our sales team.

For more information, please call us on 01530 456 000 or visit our website: www.kodiak.co.uk

Is social media getting your company noticed for the wrong reasons?

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When it comes to social media it seems even the big brands can get things very, very wrong.

From inappropriate tweeting to disastrous customer relations and audience engagement that spectacularly backfired — the Internet has seen it all.

Social sharing is putting companies and their employees under a very unforgiving spotlight, where every misdemeanour is magnified and shared — often to the point of going viral.

How is this material shared?

Twitter exchanges

Today, as I am writing this blog, there has been news coverage of a Twitter exchange between clothing retailer, Joy, and a tweet about one of their greetings cards.

A visitor to one of the company's London stores had tweeted the company to point out the offence that one of their cards could cause to people with bi-polar disorder. Their response was dismissive and insensitive.

Since the exchange began, mental health organisations have got involved and there has been a campaign to boycott or 'joycott' the store.

The company has apologised and the offending tweets appear to have been deleted from its timeline but, thanks to screenshots, they continue to be shared.

Audio recordings

This recorded exchange between a Comcast customer service agent and a customer who wanted to cancel his service is another example of an episode that went viral.

The customer recorded eight minutes of an extremely lengthy and awkward conversation in which he tried to cancel and the agent was excessively obstructive.

The company expressed its embarrassment after the exchange and has since investigated the incident to identify what went wrong. 

Complaint letters published online
One customer's disastrous experience with Ryanair led to this letter of complaint being posted online. Its humorous account of the customer's dealings with Ryanair staff soon became an Internet hit.

It was followed by this equally humorous letter sent from a customer who had experienced a terrible stay at a Britannia hotel.

According to Buzz Sumo, online content that evokes laughter and amusement is among the most likely to be shared.

Photographs

From broken products delivered in mishandled packages to incidents of foreign body food contamination. If your company's mistake can be photographed it can also be shared online.

Video footage

Many people now carry video-enabled mobile phones and many cyclists have helmet-mounted cameras. This means that anything from difficult customer service exchanges to [warning: the following clip contains extreme bad language NSFW]  incidents of road rage can be filmed covertly and uploaded without the consent of those involved. 

As technology becomes smaller and more discreet, we may not even be aware if we are being filmed, so maybe it's safest to assume we're always on camera.

Bad publicity like this is not easily forgotten.

Mud sticks and gaffes like these can be difficult for some companies to recover from.

With this in mind it's much better for incidents not to occur in the first place.


How do we prevent the incidents that lead to bad publicity?

Keep a closer eye on your social media accounts

Social media accounts are often considered a job for a junior employee, but this can be unwise. It may help to have a specific programme of content to communicate and for more senior staff to be on-hand to deal with customer interactions.

Encourage customer feedback

If customers have complaints it is much better for them to complain to you than to do it online. Always give them the opportunity to give feedback on their experience and if they do have complaints make sure you act on them and resolve them.

Listen to your employees

Encourage your employees to be open with you and tell you about persistent issues and frustrations they are having. Address these issues wherever possible.

Regularly review employee training

Training can help your employees to deal with day-to-day difficulties proactively, confidently and constructively.

Some of the ways employees can improve customer service include:

• Listening to the customer and acknowledging what he/she is saying
• Avoiding promising anything they might not be able to deliver
• Focusing on what they can do and doing it  
• Having a good attitude and being courteous

Drivers can minimise the risks of road rage by:

• Driving sensibly and avoiding antagonising other road users
• Paying special attention to vulnerable road users, such as cyclists
• Avoiding angry/provocative behaviour, like using hand gestures or flashing lights

Remind your employees of these basics on a regular basis

Kodiak's workplace poster programme regularly covers advice for providing good customer service and avoiding incidents out on the road.

To find out more, why not visit www.kodiak.co.uk or give us a call on 01530 456 000.

The dangers of smart-watches and driving

We all know about the dangers of mobile phones and driving

Statistics from Think! show that if you use a mobile phone while driving, your reaction times are around 50% slower and you are four times more likely to crash.

Since 2003 it has been illegal to use a handheld mobile phone while driving. However, even with the ban in place, the Daily Mail reports that one in four car accidents is still caused by using a mobile while driving.

Today, drivers who are caught can expect to receive an automatic fixed penalty notice, which means three penalty points on their driving licence and a £100 fine.

If a driver's case goes to court he/she could be disqualified from driving and be fined up to £1,000. For drivers of buses or goods vehicles, the maximum fine goes up to £2,500. 

The risk of using a smart-watch while driving could be even greater

Using a mobile phone when driving slows your reactions and increases your risk of crashing because your full concentration is not on the road.

If you use a handheld device the risk is greater because not only is your concentration compromised, but you are also driving one-handed and without full control of the vehicle.

So, imagine using a smart-watch while driving. 

How many hands do you have on the wheel now?

While a phone can be put down, turned off or silenced, a watch is always there and constantly accessible, with alerts popping up and messages just waiting to be answered. 

And if you're constantly tempted to look at it, to press its buttons and to read its tiny screen, your eyes won't be on the road.

Smart-watches are already available to buy

With some smart-watches already on the market, and the Apple Watch due to be released next year, they are already set to turn into the next must-have piece of technology.


It's time to take action

If you have employees who drive — professionally or otherwise — they should be aware of the dangers. Not only the risks of using a smart-watch themselves while driving, but also the risk of driving on roads where other drivers may be distracted.

Our hard-hitting poster could help you get the message across

To help our clients raise awareness of the dangers of smart-watches, we have produced a poster on the subject.

Promoting safe driving

At Kodiak Industrial we produce many posters on safe driving and avoiding collisions. 

If you employ drivers, our posters could help you to highlight common dangers, recommend good practice and encourage safer driving.

Just some of the subjects we cover on a regular basis include:

• checking mirrors and blind spots
• staged accidents and insurance fraud
• lights and signals
• occupational road risk
• anticipation and reading the road
• avoiding rear-end shunts
• speeding
• seasonal driving
• the dangers of mobile phones and driving
• stationary objects such as railings, bollards and lamp posts
• cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users

To find out more, visit our website: www.kodiak.co.uk or give us a call on 01530 456 000.

Darker days and the increased risk of accidents on the road

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Updated October 2014

In the UK, British Summer Time officially ends this Sunday, October 30. On the plus side we all get an extra hour in bed. Unfortunately we also run into one of the worst times of year for accidents on the road.

Blinding low sun

One of the first hazards for drivers at this time of year is the glare from low sun. Combined with a dirty or misty windscreen it can be very dangerous.

Drivers should keep their windscreens clean and free from smears, inside and out. Wiper blades should be checked and replaced if worn or defective. Dipped headlights can help to alert oncoming traffic.

Fewer hours of daylight

Drivers will be relying more heavily on their vehicle lights and should ensure they are clean and working before setting out. It's advisable to keep some spare lights in the vehicle just in case.

Using lights and heaters more often puts additional strain on the battery. According to the AA, drivers should consider replacing any battery that is struggling or more than five years old.

Pedestrians at risk

In the event of an accident or breakdown, a driver may have to exit their vehicle by the side of the road. Wearing a hi-viz vest or jacket can make the driver more visible to passing traffic and offers greater protection than caution and vigilance alone.

Drivers should wear hi-viz whenever they leave their vehicle – as should any pedestrians in a workplace that has moving vehicles.

Hidden hazards

Hi-viz is effective, but it is no substitute for working lights on your premises. Lighting helps your employees to see potential hazards, reducing the risk of accidents including slips, trips and collisions with vehicles. Employees should be sure to use lights correctly and report any defective or missing bulbs for replacement.

Our main message to employees this season is to 'See, be seen and be safe'.

If you would like to find out more about our posters and how they can improve safety in your workplace, please contact us to discuss your needs.

For daily tips on dealing with common workplace issues, why not follow us on Twitter.

If you would like to find out how Kodiak posters 
can help your business work smoother, smarter 
and safer, please call us on: 01530 456 000 
or email us.