When Training Road Crews About Work Zone Safety, Keep the Gory Details

Terry McNinch recently presented a Click Listen and Learn session on “Using Gut-Level Emotion to Make Safety Training Stick: An Alternative Approach that YOU Can Use.” His presentation was based on work zone safety training he conducts as director of the Michigan LTAP. McNinch uses a combination of true stories and photographs of dangerous work zone practices or accident scenes to make his point: It’s DANGEROUS out there. The challenge is to make an impact in training without a wake-up call of having someone killed. McNinch backed up his ideas on training by discussing research on effective communication. He said arousing fear is the best way to make safety information memorable, and that is why he does not shy away from gory details.