Finding good material for writing blogs gets tougher as the years fly by. But, as I research the carwash accidents that involve injuries, invariably, the most serious are a result of people being hit by cars. Case in point, a few months ago an employee in Abilene was crushed between two vehicles at a carwash. According to the story from KRBC news, an employee lost control of a van that had been customized to accommodate a handicapped person causing the vehicle to run into another employee standing in front of the car ahead. Fortunately, the injury was not life threatening.

I don’t know what protocols, if any, may have been in place at the location, but this accident clearly illustrates that they weren’t followed or didn’t have any. I’m certain that, if they had the opportunity to do this over, it would be different.

Don’t wait for a wake up call. Take steps now to develop a plan along with the proper training to eliminate or minimize this potential exposure.

Here’s a few ideas:

• Develop a driving program with written policies and procedures
• Appoint trained designated drivers as the only employees authorized to drive customers’ cars
• Enforce specific penalties for any violations to your written procedures
• Handicapped vehicles should only be operated by trained drivers
• Try to avoid stacking cars
• Employees that are designated drivers should wear distinguishing clothing
• Drivers should wear shirts or vests that are bright and very visible
• Establish a consistent training program (The difference between developing the written policies and training is simply, we often have good written procedures that aren’t shared with the employees).

Also, during my research, I came across something that surprised me. It shouldn’t have, but it did. It turned up when I typed in carwash injury claims. They call themselves the carwash Accident Attorney. Don’t be one of their victims, be prepared and eliminate the risk before it becomes a nightmare.

Remember, a safe wash protects people and profits.

What do you do at your wash to prevent driver error?