June is National Safety Month: Trying to Stop Preventable Accidents From Taking Lives

The National Safety Council, an internationally renowned safety organization based in Itasca, Illinois, continues to host an annual public awareness campaign begun in 1996, naming June as “National Safety Month.” This year’s campaign targets four areas: Continuous Improvement (June 1-7); Employee Engagement (June 8-14); Roadway Safety (June 15 -21), and Wellbeing (June 22-30).

For safety agencies, federal regulators, and advocates for accident victims and their loved ones, this devoted effort to try and stop preventable accidents – especially on our roads and on the job – will hopefully save lives here in Indiana and Illinois as well as the rest of the country.

Overlapping this month-long effort is an observance targeting large trucks spearheaded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Called “Our Roads Our Safety® Week,” it works to “raise awareness on how to share the road safely with large trucks and buses,” with daily topics focusing on distracted driving; seat belt safety; sharing the roads; work zone safety; and safe speeds.

Employers are offered free safety resources from NSC for use in employee safety education, such as videos; articles; toolkits; webinars; and jobsite posters and signs. FMCSA also has freebies for companies to use, including social graphics; checklists; and tips.

Trucking Industry During National Safety Month

For those of us living and working in the Crossroads of America, where there is an extremely high number of big rigs, reefers, tankers, tractor-trailers, flatbeds, and other semis and 18-wheelers rumbling along truck routes throughout Indiana and Illinois, having a month-long focus on safety awareness is welcomed and celebrated.

For more on the dense large truck traffic here and its accompanying dangers, read our earlier discussions in: Huge and Growing Freight Truck Traffic in Northern Indiana: Increasing Danger of Semi-Truck Crashes and Semi-Truck Crashes in Chicago: Most Dangerous Routes, Riskiest Rigs.

Continuous Improvement

For truckers, rig occupants, and those sharing the roads with them, this theme might encourage fleet owners and operators to take the time to inspect their trucks for repair, replacement, or maintenance needs, especially things like tires, brakes, and rust. Rust is a big deal on a tractor-trailer, for instance. Training might be provided to employees on things like company protocols for inspecting rigs and steps to take if the trucker discovers a problem (especially on an inspection during the route itself).

Also read: Tire Blowouts and Semi-Truck Crashes in Chicagoland and Common Types of Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana.

Employee Engagement

Respect for those behind the wheel of these large trucks must be given, both by those on the roads with them and by those who hire them to drive their trucks and deliver freight. This month is an invitation for employers to boost employer-employee relationships with consideration of things like driver needs (how bad is the parking problem on their routes?) and fuel issues. Feedback should be welcomed, and safety policies reviewed and updated as needed.

Also read: Negligent Supervision by the Trucking Company and Semi-Truck Crash and Negligent Training of Truck Drivers as Basis for Truck Crash Injury Claim.

Roadway Safety

Trucking is a dangerous occupation, and large truck crashes are often catastrophic or deadly for truckers and those that share the roadways with them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics warns in its latest findings that “…a worker died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury in 2023…transportation incidents were the most frequent type of fatal event, accounting for 36.8% of all occupational fatalities in 2023.”

The importance of keeping everyone safe on roads shared by big rigs and other motor vehicles cannot be underestimated. During National Safety Month, there is an opportunity for all of us to consider the dangers of large trucks and other traffic sharing the same roads, and how all drivers can be vigilant to the risks.

Defensive driving courses can be offered to truckers by their employers that spotlight how to cope with problem drivers on the road (speeding, road rage, aggressive driving, distracted drivers in heavy traffic). There may even be real dashcam footage available to use in these courses. Examples of the realities of tailgaters; bad winter weather conditions (the winds of Indiana are notorious); road work zone areas; and high-traffic or bad roads can be invaluable in these training sessions. Truckers have very good war stories to share that should be heard.

Employers should also reaffirm the priority of employee protection against fatigue or sickness. Rest breaks are needed. Fatigue can kill. Truckers may be dedicated and tough, ready to work through feeling ill, but sickness can compromise their agility. Companies should review their compassionate policies regarding truck drivers who are tired or sick while en route. Even grabbing an over-the-counter cold medication at the truck stop may be extremely dangerous for the commercial truck driver.

Also read: Truck Driver Fatalities on the Rise: Fatigue, Speed, and the Trucking Industry and Sick or Ill Drivers, Cognitive Function, and Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Wellbeing

Driving a large truck across the state or across the country is a stressful and complicated job. The circumstances that come with this chosen line of work are unique: for one thing, driving is often a solo effort. Independence is a great thing, but being alone for extended time periods, week after week and month after month, can wear on someone. Combined with this are the long hours and the physical toll that truckers face.

Burnout is a real risk for truckers. Mental health issues exist and need to be respected by employers as a result that can come with long hours, stressful routes, and fatigue for days or months at a time. Companies should take this month’s invitation to support the mental and physical wellbeing of their driver employees. Simple things like providing high-quality mattresses in a sleeper cab for better sleep or training on the impact of sleep deprivation on brain function can be invaluable to truckers on the long haul.

Also read: Sleepy, Tired, Fatigued, Exhausted Drivers: Brain Function and Motor Vehicle Accidents and Asleep at the Wheel: Another Truck Driver Too Tired to Drive In State Route 49 (Indiana 49) Fatal Crash.

Sharing the Roads

For those driving SUVs, minivans, sedans, pickups, hatchbacks, or motorcycles, it is important to understand the particular risks that come with driving near or alongside any large truck. These rigs are driven by professional drivers with commercial licenses who are likely to be alert and aware to the 4-wheelers around them.

This does not mean that the trucker will be able to see every vehicle on the roadway, however. Each rig will have its blind spots due to its size and height. As FMCSA advises, “if you can’t see the driver in their mirror, they likely can’t see you.”

These huge vehicles have tremendously powerful engines that are able to haul astonishing tonnage in freight. It’s impressive, but it also means that the truck will need more time to come to a stop. Drivers sharing the roads with these semis should never move in front of the large truck until an extensive distance has been created between them. And no 4-wheeler should tailgate a big rig: that can be deadly.

For more, read: Blind Spots and Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents and The Dangers of Aggressive Driving: Following Too Close Behind.

National Safety Month Invites Prioritizing Trucking Safety Issues to Protect Against Semi-Truck Crashes

Too many people are dying in preventable accidents. According to the NSC, someone dies in this country from a preventable accident every two (2) minutes, with an 154% increase in preventable accident deaths since 1992.

From NSC President and CEO Lorraine Martin:

“For nearly three decades, National Safety Month has served as a vital landmark in the push to make people safer, from the workplace to anyplace. Each year we, along with businesses and individuals across the country, take this month to encourage and educate others around safety at work, on the road and in our communities. Thank you to all those who partner with us to end preventable injuries and deaths each June and all year long.”

Joining in the effort to promote safety during June 2025 is important as advocates for accident victims and their loved ones. It is hoped that this year’s public awareness campaign is its most successful yet.

However, it is also important to point out that the state laws of Indiana and Illinois, as well as federal law in some instances, are in place to help bring justice for those who are victims of these accidents. Negligence, product liability, premises liability, strict liability, wrongful death, and even criminal complaints may arise out of a serious accident on our roads, especially in a large truck accident.

In these tragedies, workers’ compensation and personal injury civil claims may provide monetary recompense to those that have been harmed as those that breached their legal duties of care and safety are held accountable.

For more, read:

June is National Safety Month in Indiana and Illinois. Employers are encouraged to participate here, especially those in our trucking industry. Please be careful out there!