IOSH calls for companies to measure road safety effectiveness
Companies have been accused of simply throwing money at road safety strategies without looking into their effectiveness.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) made the claim during a health and safety body at Leicestershire’s Mallory Park Circuit earlier this week where it called on employers to get a grip on the concerning number of work-related road traffic accidents.
Research carried out by IOSH and TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) shows that one in three business drivers are involved in an accident every year with a third of all road accidents being work-related.
Shaun Helman, principal road safety researcher for TRL, said there is very little evidence to signify which strategies actually work and to what extent.
“Although there are some promising approaches, companies may be spending a lot of money stabbing in the dark, using a range of interventions that are as-yet unproven,” Shaun commented.
“We think that some companies are achieving results, but we want to encourage businesses across the UK to take a long, hard evaluative look at whether what they’re doing is simply ticking boxes, or actually yielding results. We need well controlled evaluation to show us what works, by how much, and why.”
Contributory factors
IOSH Food and Drink Group chair Neil Catton is pushing for all work-related road accidents to be included in RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) statistics.
Distraction, fatigue and time pressure are often contributory factors but Neil believes that companies would be able to quash common causes of road traffic accidents if more information was gathered.
He added: “The statistics of work-related RTAs show us that currently we haven’t hit on the golden formula that leaves company drivers better equipped to deal with driving risks.”
Mr Catton also suggested nipping the cause at the source: “The answer is to drive less, by using public transport, pairing up with another team members, or staying overnight in hotels to break up journeys.”
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