Employers and government must give more priority to road risk management, not just in the UK but also in developing countries.
This was the message heard by delegates who attended a panel discussion on educating workers on road risk and strengthening the health and safety culture in this area.
Russell Clark, of DHL Supply Chain, said companies have a massive advantage in the UK because of well-established driver legislation and standards – from drivers and licences, through to vehicles. The challenges in the UK, he suggested, are around the pressures organisations place on drivers, the congestion of the country’s road network, and improving education and training, particularly of high-risk drivers.
Keith Scott, former head of safety at Royal Mail Group, highlighted figures suggesting in developing countries, up to 1 per cent of GDP can be lost as a result of fatalities on the road.
Suggesting how companies should approach road-risk management, if they haven’t already started to, Astrid van der Burgt, national road risk manager at Kuehne + Nagal, championed a management systems approach, focusing on risk assessments and the ‘Plan, Do Check, Act’ model. Risk assessments, she added, should be broken down into looking at specific issues, such as the vehicle, the journey, and the driver.
Naveed Qamar, group safety director at First Group, told the audience that “everything has to be super slick” at his company and that should start with the person driving the vehicle – i.e. are they fit to perform their duty and are they skilled, both in the mechanical aspect of driving and in the people skills?
Russell Clarke added that road risk must take into account organisational factors, such as how much pressure businesses place on drivers to carry out deliveries or other tasks, as well as educating them on managing and taking account of the behaviour of other road users.
Keith Scott also questioned whether employers are really enabling drivers to be dynamic risk-assessors and whether enough though is being placed on the transitory conditions that drivers are facing – for example, the increased risks, particularly in terms of reversing, which delivery drivers might encounter when they have to park their vehicle in a public car park.
Asked about the role of technology, the panel said there were obvious advantages and disadvantages. Astrid van der Burgt said a lot of modern technologies are good, but some may make drivers more prone to other risks, such as fatigue.
Russell Clarke explained that “there is always a conflict in safety with technology, with what you’re engineering in and what you’re engineering out”. He used the example of cruise control, which can be useful in terms of the economical value of vehicle use, but can reduce the engagement of driving as an activity, leading to the possibility of boredom or frustration.
Astrid van der Burgt emphasised the importance of education again, in relation to technology, explaining that her company identifies high-risk drivers and then places them on a driver training course, which engages them to formulate their own personal improvement plans.
Asked as well how they deal with “heroes” – people who might be too ill, or fatigued to drive or who undertake a journey in poor weather conditions because they want to perform their duty and not ‘let the employer down’.
Naveed Qamar admitted that this can be a problem and that it takes a very brave person to say no. Russell Clarke echoed these concerns but stressed that it is important to empower drivers to make sensible decisions and then support them if they decide not to make a journey.
Finally, asked whether enough priority is being attached to road-risk management, the panel was in broad agreement that not enough is being done. Keith Scott said developed countries need to lead the way in transferring their knowledge in this area to developing countries – not simply in terms of building roads and infrastructure but also in road risk awareness and safety.
And Astrid van der Burgt concluded: “I would urge everyone to start looking at road-risk management if they are not doing so already,” adding that management commitment is imperative, as well as the practice of suitable and sufficient risk assessments and effective controls.
This eBook will guide you through some of the key understandings you need to be able to manage driver safety effectively and, at the end, provide a series of free resources you can access to help you ensure your own driver safety management system is robust, legally compliant and in line with industry-accepted good practice.
Download this eBook from Driving for Better Business and SHP to cover:
- Why do we need to manage driver safety?
- Duty of care – a shared responsibility;
- Setting the rules with a driving for work policy;
- Managing driver safety;
- Ensuring safe vehicles;
- Safe journeys and fitness to drive;
- Record keeping;
- Reporting;
- The business benefits of good practice;
- Additional resources
Yes Russell, perhaps you would like to explain this to the driver of the DHL truck that tailgated me through a contraflow this morning! How about putting “How’s My Driving “plates on all DHL vehicles including the Reps Managers and Directors; education, careful management and training is what’s required.