Meet Liam: Safety on the Road

July 25, 2019

Meet Liam: Safety on the Road

Liam Scoffield, a public relations manager for a transportation company in Winnipeg, was headed to a trade fair in Chicago for the weekend. It was a quick trip, and his early morning flight was delayed, so he was really cutting it close to make it to the trade show on time. The rental company had promised him a car with GPS, but they didn’t have one when he arrived. Hurriedly, he took the replacement car they offered.

While he navigated the new city, he consulted the GPS on his phone to get him there. “I never get on the phone when I’m driving,” says Liam. “I only checked it on hands-free mode in a traffic-stopped zone — all perfectly legal.”

But as he paused at a crossroads to check for a turn, he was rear-ended by the car behind him.

Taking Precautions for Safety

Liam is safety-conscious, especially when it comes to cars. He has a perfect driving record. He wears his seatbelt, obeys traffic signals, and never has a drop to drink if he plans on driving. Naturally, before leaving, he checked the road rules for Chicago – including for cellphone use.

He also double-checked his employee benefits for his out-of-town coverage. His HR manager reminded him of the Travel Navigator™ service that was bundled with the employee benefits. The service would allow Liam to access travel information about his destination, including finding nearby health care facilities that would accept his benefits package. It also allowed him to communicate with his manager quickly in case of an incident.

“It was nice to know I had personalized information close at hand,” says Liam. “It made me feel prepared.” Liam downloaded the Travel Navigator™ app well before he left, but he didn’t really give it a second thought… until the moment of the accident.

Cellphones to the Rescue

The accident was minor – just a fender bender, and Liam wasn’t at fault. The other driver was friendly, and the cars were relatively undamaged. But Liam had a small pain in his shoulder, and he had heard horror stories of hidden injuries from minor car accidents becoming chronic problems if left untreated. He decided to consult a doctor as soon as possible, but he wasn’t sure where to go.

Then he remembered the Travel Navigator™ service that he had previously downloaded. Using the mobile app, Liam located the nearest hospital that would accept his benefits and went to get checked out. He also used the one-button communication feature to contact his insurance company to let them know what was going on.

“I was so worried that my phone use had contributed to the incident,” says Liam, “but in fact it contributed to the solution.”

Within a few hours, Liam was assured that his shoulder wasn’t injured – just a bruise from the seatbelt he had dutifully worn. He was also able to coordinate with his HR manager to make it for the last 2 days of the fair.

“I landed a few new clients that weekend,” says Liam, “including one that specializes in vehicle safety equipment!”

For more insight, take a look at Travel Navigator.