TOOLBOX TALK

Long before mobile phones came along people still found ways to make things turn out the way they weren't supposed to. No doubts. Work could still be hazardous or downright perilous provided the right triggers were present. People ate, drank, smoked behind the wheel. Why some even tried reading the morning or evening paper in slow-moving traffic, while not a few lady drivers made a habit of a little powder application every now and again. What with having to beat the rush hour traffic - no time enough at home, so the in the car it is. Well some got away with it but many didn't. That means many got involved in vehicle collisions that could have been avoided or prevented. Which meant spending time and money unforeseen, unplanned. Time too, not to mention the rest of it like anger, frustration, etc. But in the end it wasn't 'too bad' because we could generally  'live' with the outcome or so we quietly mused. Then came along this cute invention called mobi...

Business safety issues in Nigeria are largely left to hope rather than experience. Cataclysmal occurrences elsewhere are ascribed to ill luck, home trouble, which can be left with the pastor or marabout to sort out while you get on with the business of "making money". Sad road to take. Mind you, the choice is yours. Besides, the power to choose is one of the most powerful tools God gifted us with so there's no call for regret when it all falls down and your business is wiped out with employees killed or maimed and you're left with massive restitution bills, compensation claims, hiked insurance premiums and general re-start headaches; and a permanently damaged business reputation.   Mind you, people will cotton on faster if we had a clear cut policy and practice of enforcement of health and safety regulations in this country. Things would work better, boundaries and limitations would be more apparent and consequences will be obvious. But not here. It's free-fo...

That nasty word again, accident! They are a pain in the wrong place, pure and simple. Regarded with fear and trepidation by most, it is totally justifiable to seek ways and means to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Whether in your home, community, business or at play, accidents mean just the one thing: Losses. Accident victims may never quite completely finish recounting their experiences to the minute detail nor is it possible to put a definite figure to the cost of loss suffered or incurred but they will surely not forget the date, place and time of occurrence. Fact is there's usually little or no redeeming feature to an accident, all considered. Apart from the chaos and disruption that attends their wake, accidents normally leave those victims the worst for wear no matter the level or severity. Prevention therefore stands out as the best option of choice open to anyone keen on avoiding the bagful of troubles trail...

  Safe driving is a habit just as much as unsafe driving. Both of them are a matter of choice and practice! It starts with learning to drive: you're either taught to drive the right way or the wrong way. Then you simply proceed from there on to hone the skills and perfect the art as learned in training. The result is therefore as evidenced on the road everyday, each day, 24/7.   So it is safe to say that safe and unsafe driving habits are two sides of the same coin ... . The real story begins to unfold when that coin is tossed, to land one face up. Violations, collisions, property damage, injuries, anger, frustration and sometimes, death often result when it lands 'saying' unsafe. Then all hell is let lose as previous plans are put on hold or completely derailed to make way for the real issues of the moment. Principal of which is that your trip is immediately aborted as the unsafe driver and one or more other innocent road users have to square up to the reality of a ...