June is National Safety Month—a time focused on safety in the workplace, at home, and everywhere in between. But for Woodford Oil Company, every month is safety month because safety is such a fundamental part of our operations. Our Safety-First Philosophy means that no aspect of business is more important than ensuring the safety of our employees, customers, and the local communities where we operate.
Each week of June the National Safety Council (NSC) spotlights a different safety topic. The topic for June 15-21 is Roadway Safety. With dozens of vehicles spread across our nine office locations, and even more trucks at Woodford Transport, Woodford knows a thing or two about roadway safety!
Preventable Traffic Accidents Impact Business Operations
Preliminary NSC estimates indicate that 44,680 people died in preventable traffic crashes in the United States during 2024. In fact, NSC notes that:
- Every 7 seconds, someone is injured in a vehicle crash
- Every 15 minutes, someone is killed
- Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of workplace death
The top contributors to traffic accidents are:
- Distracted driving (including texting and cell phone use while driving)
- Driver impairment (including use of alcohol and drugs)
- Speeding
- Driver fatigue and
- Careless/improper driving
Many of these accidents occur either during the work day or the commute to and from work. But whether or not crashes occur on or off the job, employers have an interest in working to prevent them because they have a negative impact on employee health and workplace operations.
The NSC website has a wide variety of safe driving resources, including toolkits, articles, videos, and online training programs for both individuals and companies.
Woodford Drivers Travel Thousands of Miles Annually
At Woodford Oil Company and Woodford Transport, our highly skilled, experienced drivers travel thousands of miles each year serving our customers. Collectively, our drivers spend about 95,000 hours on the road and travel about 4.5 million miles annually. That’s the equivalent of about 180 times around the Earth every year!
We select our drivers based on their qualifications and experience, and all drivers must exceed the minimum regulatory commercial motor vehicle standards of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Once hired, our drivers also undergo frequent reviews of their driving, product handling, and customer service performance to ensure they continue to meet our best-in-class standards.
To support our drivers and enhance the safety and efficiency of our operations, we maintain a modern fleet of top-of-the-line vehicles and equipment. For example, many Woodford fuel delivery trucks feature a set-back axle that allows us to safely deliver fuel to more demanding, off-road commercial job sites. The set-back axle gives our trucks a tighter turning radius, which means improved maneuverability to safely deliver to busy job sites and confined spaces.
Woodford also equips its long-haul trucks with Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) that track speed, miles driven, and other operational and safety-related data, as well as forward-facing cameras to record any traffic incidents.
Employee Training Underpins Our Approach to Safety
Woodford understands that the transportation, handling, and management of fuels, lubricants, propane, and other petroleum products and chemicals presents unique challenges. For that reason, our Safety-First Philosophy is woven into the fabric of our operations and is a belief championed by management and embraced by employees.
Training—for our drivers or any other employee—underpins our approach to safety. Our standing Safety Committee is responsible for developing and implementing safety training for management and staff, including regularly scheduled field and classroom sessions on a broad spectrum of topics relevant to our industry, such as spill prevention, hazardous materials (HazMat) security, confined space entry, operating powered industrial lift trucks, and hazard communication (HazCom).
The Safety Committee also is involved with bringing in professionals from the insurance and risk management industries to discuss important safety topics and provide insight on trends in safety and responsibility in the workplace.
Through employee training, and the consistent application of our Safety-First Philosophy, we actively promote a work environment that contributes to the positive attitudes and safe practices of all employees. We firmly believe this approach translates into superior performance for our customers. And that means safety is not just good policy, it’s good business.
Have Questions? Woodford Can Help
At Woodford Oil Company, we’re here to help our customers find the products and services they need.
Since 1947, Woodford has been your trusted local fuel and lubricants provider, delivering to residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture customers in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Contact us with any questions about our Safety-First Philosophy, or for more information about fuels, lubricants, propane, or any of our products and services. Or request a quote online! Phone: 1-800-927-3688. Email: info@woodfordoil.com. Follow us @facebook.com/woodfordoil and @instagram.com/woodfordoil
Woodford Transport, LLC, is a Woodford Oil Co.-related entity.
