CRICOS No. 00213J

Work Related Road Safety: Integrating a Risk Management Approach

Presenter Darren WishartThe national Driver Fatigue Risk Management Conference 2012

Origins of CARRS-Q Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety –

Queensland (CARRS-Q) was established in 1996 as joint initiative of:– QUT– Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC)

Based in the School of Psychology & Counselling, Faculty of Health

Primary role is to undertake research and training to improve safety on Queensland roads and in the workplace

Research Themes

Regulation and Enforcement School and Community Injury Prevention Vulnerable Road Users Occupational Safety Road Infrastructure Safety Intelligent Transport Systems

Advanced Driving Simulator

Work related road safety is a complex puzzle

PolicyProcedures

Reporting

Risk management

Vehicles EnvironmentManagement commitment

Culture

Employee commitment

WRRS promotionInfringement

monitoring

Crashes

How good a driver are you?

How do you rate yourself as a driver?Poor Average

Excellent1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

How safe are you as a driver?Unsafe Average

Extremely safe1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

Currently in your workplace today are you & your

organisation managing the risk associated with vehicles and

their use with the same level of diligence as other workplace

hazards and equipment?

Road Safety Worldwide

World wide estimates since the introduction of combustion engine:– Over 18 Million people have died– Over 750 000 road related deaths per year– 23 million injuries & disablements per year

• Estimated that one road fatality and 50 injuries occur each minute, worldwide (Noy, 1997)

• In Australia, approximately 75% of all locally produced passenger vehicles are purchased as fleet vehicles and more than half of all new vehicle registrations annually consist of fleet vehicles (AFMA, 2008).

• Vehicle under many jurisdictions is considered a workplace (Rowland et al., 2006).

Work related road safety an issue often ignored despite....

• Workers compensation fatality claims demonstrating vehicle crashes are the most likely mechanism of injury, approximately three times higher than chemicals or substance (Australian Safety and Compensation Council, 2006)

• Average lost time greater than other workplace claims (Stewart-Bogle, 1999)

• Work related road crash injuries twice as likely to result in death or permanent injury (Wheatley, 1997).

Organisational deficiencies• Organisations often take “one size fits all”

approach • Primarily focus on driver• Fail to address deficiencies in

organisational systems to support safe vehicle use (Davey et al., 2008).

• Fail to adequately manage risk in comparison to other workplace hazards and risks (Wishart & Davey, 2004; Rowland et al., 2005).

Managing Risk

Within organisations risk management strategies to ensure safety in the workplace are undertaken in a proactive manner........

In contrast with vehicles often the incident occurs before risk is assessed.

What is currently done in your organisation to minimise risks

associated with driving for work?

• Example of a recent CARRS-Q study to demonstrate some of the “risk management” practices within organisational vehicle fleet operations

Wishart, Darren E., Rowland, Bevan D., Freeman, James E., & Davey, Jeremy D. (2011) Driving for work : a series of organisational audit results. In Australasian College of Road Safety National Conference (ACRS 2011), 1-2 Sepember 2011, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, VIC.

Overview

• Undertook a series of work related road safety audits across a number of organisations to determine deficiencies in each organisation’s safe driving management and practice.

Method• Utilised previously developed “Organisational Work

Related Road Safety Situational Analysis tool”

Stage 1: Staff Structured Interviews &

Discussions

Stage 2: Review of Organisational Records,

Documentation and Initiatives

Stage 3: Analysis of Work-Related Vehicle

Crash Data

Results and Discussion

• Three areas of deficiency consistent across all participating organisations 1. a lack of comprehensive policy relating

specifically to work related driving;2. a lack of consistent and sufficient detail in

relation to crash data reporting and recording, and

3. a lack of communication and promotion strategies associated with promoting safe work related driving.

Conclusions

• Short comings identified actually don’t require much to rectify in regards to funds, resources or expertise

• Vehicle incidents need to considered and managed with the same level of diligence as all other hazards

• Organisations need to increase the importance of promoting vehicle safety and risk awareness

• Organisations need a WRRS champion (Fleet versus OH&S)

What do you do to minimise risks in the workplace?

•Identify Hazard- what is it?•Identify Risk- what can happen, how can it happen?•Analyse Risk- determine likelihood, determine consequences, estimate level of risk•Evaluate Risk- Compare against criteria, set risk priorities•Treat Risks- Identify treatment options, evaluate implement plans

Work related road safety is a complex puzzle

PolicyProcedures

Reporting

Risk management

Vehicles EnvironmentManagement commitment

Culture

Employee commitment

WRRS promotionInfringement

monitoring

Crashes

What can you do in your organisation to minimise risks

associated with driving for work?

Thanks for the opportunity to share some ideas about work related road

safetyAny Questions

d.wishart@qut.edu.au

Multi-disciplinary event

– Road & transport safety– Aviation safety– Watercraft safety– Construction safety

Key DatesRegistrations Open 5 MarchEarly Bird & Presenter Registration closes 14 June

http://ositconference.com

Useful Tips for Safer Driving1. Accept the challenge to change your own driving behaviour2. Commit to driving safer3. Keep a safety space4. Look left and right when the light turns green5. Why are you in a rush?6. When reversing- use a colleague, check your rear before getting in

vehicle7. Use the cruise control to prevent speed creep8. Seatbelt on, ignition on9. Late for appointment- phone ahead new ETA10. Pull over before answering mobile phone11. Is it safe to talk?12. Allocate time for administrative tasks13. If tired stop and revive14. Accept that all road users make mistakes and don’t get angry or

frustrated at other road users15. Maintain 2-4 second gap between your vehicle and the vehicle in front16. Monitor your hands on the steering wheel?