Most organizations with winter operations have a safety program in place. Drivers are trained. Ice cleats are issued. Policies outline when and where traction should be worn.
Yet winter slip and fall injuries continue to occur, often involving experienced delivery drivers and field technicians who understand the risks.
When this happens, safety leaders frequently ask the same question. Why are slips still happening despite a winter safety program? The answer often lies in a problem most programs do not address at all.
Most winter safety programs focus almost entirely on outdoor conditions. They address ice and snow on sidewalks and parking lots, proper use of ice cleats or traction devices, and awareness training for winter hazards.
What they rarely account for is how often drivers and technicians move between outdoor and indoor environments during a single shift. For delivery drivers, couriers, and field service teams, winter work is not a series of long outdoor walks. It is a constant cycle of short stops, doorways, lobbies, stairwells, and corridors.
This is where most winter slip injuries occur.
Slip and fall risk increases during transitions for several reasons. Traditional ice cleats are designed for snow and ice, not hard indoor surfaces. When worn on tile, polished concrete, or sealed floors, metal spikes can actually reduce traction.
Frequent removal and reapplication of traction creates rushed behavior. Drivers under route pressure often skip removing cleats for short indoor stops. Many transitions also occur while carrying packages or tools, limiting balance and increasing injury severity.
Many winter safety programs respond to ongoing slips by increasing training or reinforcing compliance. Training is important, but it cannot overcome poor equipment fit for the task.
No amount of training can make aggressive spikes safe on tile floors, eliminate the hassle of removing cleats dozens of times per day, or prevent rushed decisions when PPE is inconvenient. This is not a behavior problem. It is a system design problem.
Drivers step from icy sidewalks onto smooth lobbies. Field technicians move from snow covered parking lots into retail stores or offices. Couriers navigate elevators and stairwells all day long.
Traditional traction solutions force workers into a choice. Wear ice cleats indoors and risk slipping or damaging floors. Stop and remove traction repeatedly. Skip traction for short outdoor exposures. Each option introduces risk. This pattern is often referred to as the transitional trap.
Effective winter safety programs account for the full workday, not just outdoor conditions. This includes considering transitional traction solutions designed specifically for frequent indoor and outdoor transitions.
At Winter Walking, transitional traction is designed around how drivers and field technicians actually move through their day. It balances reliable outdoor grip with indoor stability, reducing the need for constant removal and reapplication.
Winter Walking offers multiple transitional traction options designed to meet different operational needs, including varying studded materials and one size fits all designs.
For example, the Ice Breaker Transitional Traction model is engineered for workers who need dependable grip outdoors while maintaining stability on hard indoor surfaces.
Winter safety does not fail because teams lack training or effort. It fails when programs are built around assumptions that do not match how work actually happens. If slips keep occurring despite a winter safety program, the issue may not be compliance. It may be that the program overlooks the most dangerous step of the day. The step inside.