Global Collaborations in Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
Inputs: Economic Factors
Market forces, structural changes, and emerging threats around the world may affect the resources available for occupational road safety initiatives.
Across the Sector
Changes in business practices have increased performance demands on businesses:
- If businesses are to remain competitive in today's global economy, they must be flexible in responding to the demands of consumers and producers, and they must be prepared to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- For workers, the "just-in-time" business model can mean increased stress, more shift work, and intense production demands that can compromise worker safety and health.
Employers in all nations are in a position to influence road safety for their employees and for other road users:
- Employer efforts to promote road safety among employees can in part compensate for a lack of public resources for road safety campaigns.
- The employer-employee relationship gives employers the opportunity and the responsibility to influence employee driving behavior through policies that mandate seat belt use, prohibit impaired driving, and allow workers to operate within existing traffic laws and safety regulations.
Employer responsibility to provide safe and healthful working conditions extends to informing employees about traffic conditions and personal security when working abroad:
- Employees working overseas need information on local traffic conditions and traffic laws.
- Penalties for impaired driving or other violations may be strict, and it may be difficult for the employer or the U.S. government to intervene on an employee’s behalf.
- Employees need instructions on how to respond to a crash and how to obtain medical treatment or evacuation if necessary.
Terrorism is a threat to the safety and security of nearly all operations within the sector:
- Preplanning is critical for all modes of transportation to ensure the safe transport of goods and passengers within and across national borders.
- The need to transport petroleum and other commodities by pipeline across politically unstable areas of the world compels businesses and governments to take strong measures to protect goods and personnel from security threats.
- The increased costs of intensive security measures will reduce profit margins and may be passed on to consumers.
- Increased spending to combat security threats may require businesses to cut spending on worker safety and health.
Truck Transportation
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in increased cross-border truck and bus traffic between the United States, Canada, and Mexico:
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed new regulations to ensure that foreign truck and bus firms operating in the U.S. are held to the same driver and vehicle safety standards as U.S. firms.
- Mexican firms may operate in certain “commercial zones” near the U.S.-Mexico border, but must obtain additional certifications from FMCSA if they wish to operate beyond those zones.
Resources
All Modes of Transportation
U.S. Department of Homeland Security [2008]. Travel and transportation: protecting travelers and commerce. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
External link: http://test.rwb.gov.edgesuite.net/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0055.xml
U.S. Department of State [2008]. International travel information. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State.
External link:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html
Truck Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [2008]. Home page. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
External link:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [2008]. Cross-border/NAFTA. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
External link:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/cross-border/cross-border.htm
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [2008]. Rules and regulations. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
External link:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/rules-regulations.htm
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [2008]. Motor carrier security issues. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
External link:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/espanol/english/mc_security.htm
Page last updated:
July 24, 2008
Page last reviewed:
July 24, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
