10/10/2025
Public Entity Risk Control News:
Garage Fires, Reducing Vehicle Accidents, Public Entity Cyberbullying Prevention, and GA’s Public Risk Professional of the Year
Trident Public Risk Solutions offers valuable resources to help you get ready for the future, whether you’re concerned about the burden of managing risks in your public entity, reducing vehicle accidents and garage fires, or preventing cyberbullying in your public entity schools.
Georgia Public Risk Professional of the Year
Preventing DPW Garage Fire
Using a Management Platform for Vehicle Accident Reduction
Cyberbullying Prevention Presents Challenges to School District Officials
Georgia Public Risk Professional of the Year
Marie Barbee, Risk Manager for Catoosa County, was honored with the Georgia Public Risk Professional of the Year Award for her outstanding achievements in public entity risk management and leadership. She was nominated by fellow risk and insurance professionals from GA PRIMA for instilling a strong risk management culture throughout her county’s many departments, particularly those responsible for public operations.
Marie is dedicated and has worked for Catoosa County for nine years, having been commended for establishing and building the County’s Risk Management Program. She has worked diligently to develop training programs, procedures, and protocols to manage and mitigate claims and losses. Our Ashley Bonner has been working closely with Marie since 2021 on both property and casualty items. As many are aware, Ashley is a go-to resource for policyholders in her territory, and her relationship with Marie, both as a Trident client and a fellow GA PRIMA member, remains strong.
How to Prevent DPW Garage Fires for Your Public Entity
Garage fires can be costly. They not only damage the building but also damage the hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of vehicles and equipment stored inside. The fall and winter months can be especially challenging as leaf vacuums and dump truck snowplows are often the source of fires. Combined with vehicles being stored inside for the season, this can lead to catastrophic losses.
Due to supply chain issues, replacing dump trucks and other road maintenance equipment has been difficult, with orders taking up to 2 years for delivery. Therefore, trucks are being used past their intended lifespan and may be at higher risk if not well-maintained.
The combination of dry debris and hot exhaust is a leading cause of leaf vacuum fires. When it comes to snowplows, improper wiring combined with corrosion from salt and other chemicals can cause electrical system shorts that could result in fires. When vehicles are parked inside next to one another or other flammable maintenance items, a disaster is a real possibility.
While prevention should always be an essential item, it is especially true during the leaf collection and snowplow seasons, as drivers are often running on little sleep, and post-trip inspections can be glossed over or forgotten altogether.
Having a specific checklist for pre- and post-inspections that includes wiring – both electrical and hydraulic – can ensure these potential fire hazards are properly addressed. Suppose you are using a fleet maintenance software program. In that case, many of them offer a mobile application that allows inspections to be completed electronically and automatically uploaded to your system, along with the generation of work orders.
Another solution is installing and using battery disconnect switches. Battery disconnect switches shut off current flowing through the electrical system, thereby reducing the risk of sparks from compromised wiring. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
Consult with your fire department to evaluate your public works maintenance and storage garages and determine if they are adequately protected with heat detectors. Additionally, ensure that flammable and combustible exposures are correctly addressed.
For more information on preventing DPW garage fires, click here.
Using a Management Platform for Vehicle Accident Reduction
There were 39,345 fatalities in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Intersection accidents alone represent over 50% of injuries and deaths. Vehicle accidents have been increasing over recent years, resulting in rising costs, injuries, property damage, and high insurance premiums. The majority of these accidents are caused by distracted driving. We can each easily change this by controlling our behaviors and choices, though some people need help with that.
There are several methods for reducing accidents by controlling behaviors. Many organizations are proactively turning to driver/vehicle management systems, such as TRUCE Modular Telematics Platform, to reduce accidents by controlling the driver behaviors that cause them. TRUCE offers a variety of comprehensive services that an organization can customize and change as needed. They store the data for an unlimited timeframe, and the reasonable cost per employee is built into the service. Further, studies have shown that implementing the program saves at least 40-60% on accident-related costs, along with many other benefits.
They transform road safety, efficiency, and workforce productivity with a modular, enterprise-grade platform that leverages your existing mobile technology hardware and wireless service. They support a culture of empowerment, accountability, efficiency, and safety – at half the cost of alternative approaches.
Cyberbullying Prevention Can Present Challenges to School Districts
From name-calling to stealing lunch money to fisticuffs, bullying seems to be as old as schools themselves. The advent of smartphones and social media sites has given rise to what is known as cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is defined by stopbullying.gov as
“Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. It can occur through SMS, Text, apps, or online on social media, forums, or gaming platforms, where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else, which can cause embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.”
Tragically, bullying in general has been cited by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a factor in the growing trend of suicide among young people. According to the CDC, in 2021, 9% of high school students reported attempting suicide during the previous 12 months. While the issues as causes of suicide are complex, bullying in general, and cyberbullying in particular, are often cited as at least contributing factors.
Since at least 1969, when the Supreme Court decided Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969), schools have the authority to discipline students when their actions “materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school and collide with the rights of others.” (393 U.S. at 513). This includes the ability — and, indeed, the responsibility — to take action to prevent cyberbullying, given activities that occur outside school boundaries and times and interfere with another student’s ability to function in school. (Id.)
Although varying significantly, all 50 U.S. states have some form of anti-bullying statute that includes cyberbullying prevention as part of its definition. Among the common core principles of these laws are the requirements to adopt a policy, regularly review and update it, and investigate and report incidents of bullying.
Schools do a good job of complying with the law by having a cyberbullying prevention policy and communicating it to students and the community. As in most cases, problems arise not from the lack of a policy but from not living up to its requirements.
While liability for cyberbullying prevention failures varies among jurisdictions, avoiding liability should not be the goal; stopping the harm to affected students should. The student, not liability, should be the focus. In any event, the best outcome for any claim is not that you win, but rather that it never comes in the first place.
Five Steps to Help Cyberbullying Prevention and Reduce Claims
- Take all claims seriously. Even behavior that does not meet a statutory definition of bullying can have negative impact on the learning environment.
- Engage the parents on both sides for cyberbullying prevention. Many states have laws requiring the notification of parents of the victim. However, the parents of the purveyor may be in a better position to monitor the use of their child’s use of electronic devices.
- Encourage students to take affirmative steps, such as blocking the person who is cyberbullying and reporting the cyberbullying to online platforms. Cyberbullying will often violate the terms of service on the platform. Stay abreast of the latest platform and help the victim with steps if necessary to help with cyberbullying prevention.
- Know your local anti-bullying laws and report possible cyberbullying violations immediately. Posts that involve threats of violence, explicit photographs or hate speech are often prohibited by statute and should be investigated by the proper authorities at your public entity.
- Incorporate information on cyberbullying prevention into your antibullying curriculum and training.
According to the National Institutes of Health, students who experience cyberbullying are 4 times as likely to report suicide ideations and attempts as those that did not. Researchers at the Lifespan Brain Institute of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that cyberbullying is unique as an independent risk factor. It should therefore be given its own crucial emphasis. Your public entity should work hard to maintain a strong cyberbullying prevention program in your school systems.
Want even more resources? Check out Trident’s full selection of resources for your public entity here.
