Warning Signs – Truth or Fiction by Safety Speaker John Drebinger Mar 6, 2014

There are safety stories everywhere you go. This week, I was buying gas and ran into the store to get a soft drink. As I did, I heard a guy ask the cashier if it was still wet near a “slippery when wet” sign.

The cashier answered, “No, it dried up.”
The gentleman then offered to move the sign out of the way as it was a trip hazard all by itself. I walked over and thanked him for correcting the situation and watching out for everyone’s safety.

All too often, I see these signs used in areas where it might get wet. The problem is people walk by and see there is no hazard except for the sign and they begin to doubt its accuracy. When people continually see the sign is incorrect they will habitually begin to ignore the warning. Now, there is real danger because when there is a actual slip hazard it will be ignored.

If you have an area that potentially may be slippery, put a permanent sign in the area cautioning about the possibility. It would be similar to the signs you see on the highway warning a bridge may freeze before the road approaching the bridge. This is a good cautionary sign.

Our credibility as safety team members and professionals is at stake when we continually warn about hazards that don’t exist. As a top international safety speaker I can assure you that language does matter and it is important to distinguish between a potential hazard and one that is currently an impending threat.

Next week, I will be announcing a short, 2-minute video you may use for fun at an upcoming safety meeting. We hope it goes viral on the internet. Our plan is to release it to the safety community in the middle of March and then everyone else at the beginning of April. You may have figured out where this is leading. Thanks for subscribing to the newsletter.

Until next week,
I’ll be, “Watching Out For Everyone’s Safety™”
International Safety Speaker John Drebinger