Road-traffic safety standard should help focus minds

BSI has launched a standard to address international concerns around road-traffic safety.

BS ISO 39001 – Road-traffic safety management systems provides a common-agreed industry standard aimed at reducing death and serious injury in road-traffic crashes. It encourages organisations to demonstrate their commitment to the safety and welfare of employees and the general public by adopting a best-practice management framework to reduce risks in this area.
 
Importantly, the standard includes an annex comparing the requirements of the road-safety standard with BS OHSAS 18001, the management-system standard for occupational health and safety, and sets out a structured framework for combating complacency and identifying continual improvements in best-practice safety management.
 
The publication of BS ISO 39001 coincides with the recent Department for Transport (DfT) annual report, which shows the significance of socio-economic and health impacts of road-traffic crashes. According to BSI, the report highlights a 3-per-cent increase in people killed in road-traffic accidents in 2010/11 and a 2-per-cent increase in those seriously injured.
 
BS ISO 39001 aims to improve these statistics by encouraging stakeholders to deliver best-practice safety measures, such as straighter design of roads where possible, safer placing of traffic cones and enhanced training for drivers of fleet vehicles.
 
“Global research has shown that death and serious injury can be considerably reduced by adopting a holistic, safe system approach to road-traffic safety,” said Elaine Munro, global portfolio manager at BSI.

“Road-traffic safety lies at the core of a wide range of business activities – for example, maintaining an organisation’s reputation, protecting income and revenue opportunity, managing business risk and conducting business responsibly through adherence to best-practice road management standards.”
 
Jeanne Breen is chair of the BSI road safety panel and UK delegate to the ISO technical committee, which developed and drafted the standard. She commented: “This standard, if adopted widely, could make an important contribution to saving lives and preventing serious injuries.

“Many organisations already have policies and procedures in place aimed at managing the risk of death and serious injury due to road-traffic crashes. However, the introduction of a specific standard in this area will encourage a comprehensive, focused and evidence-based approach to be taken towards achieving road-safety results.”
 
The standard is expected to have broad appeal to public and private-sector organisations of all types and sizes.

For further information, or to download a copy of the standard, visit shop.bsigroup.com

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