Organisational Approaches to Fleet Road Safety

Organisational Approaches to Fleet Road Safety Russell White Driversafety.com.au Abstract Work related driving is rapidly emerging as a major concern for fleet operators however, despite a increased awareness of the issue, there still appears to be a lack of consistency in its level of recognition within industry. This inconsistency is also evident by the various processes employed by different organisations in dealing with the complexities around work related road safety. The aim of this report was to investigate what action is currently being undertaken to address the issue of work related road safety within various corporate organisations in Australia. As part of this study we wanted to obtain an overview of the practices employed by a sample of corporate fleets. These fleets were diverse in terms of their size, vehicle fleet and work tasks. We were also seeking to identify what limitations there were on current activities and what could be done to improve access to new road safety initiatives in the future. The research involved interviewing a number of fleet operators and requesting their views on the topic of fleet safety. We looked to identify not only what was currently in place from the organisation s perspective but also to establish if there were any conceptual links between the road safety philosophies of the fleet manager and the safety culture of company and its staff. The research did highlight the diverse nature of work related road safety and the challenges fleet operators face in dealing with the issue. It also showed that the larger fleets in the study demonstrated a much higher degree of activity and commitment to work related driver safety. Whilst smaller organisations see fleet safety as an important issue, they do have a number of limitations which restrict their ability to introduce additional countermeasures. These included lack of resources, cultural complacency around work related road safety and limited support from management. The study also suggested that fleet safety culture is continuing to evolve in terms of general practice, recognition and awareness however evidence suggests that it is still a considerable way behind when compared to other forms of work related safety. Research does suggest however that fleet safety does provide significant opportunities for improving road safety generally. Therefore researching ways to improve fleet safety should be given a greater priority. 1

Introduction Road safety is a complex and widely diverse issue. One of the most significant areas of overall road safety relates to work related driving. This type of driving can include a vast array of job descriptions and also involve a number of different vehicle types. These vehicles can range from motorcycles, light sedans through to heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses. A vehicle used for work purposes is defined as part a workplace. (Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Act, 1995) There are legal obligations for employers to ensure the safety of their work force. This legislation doesn t end when a person gets behind the wheel of a work vehicle. The impact work related traffic crashes have on the community is considerable. As an example, in Queensland alone, crashes involving fleet vehicles account for 25% of road fatalities and 43% of all work-related deaths. (ATSB 2003) Despite these figures it could be argued that the importance of this issue is yet to fully emerge. Work related road safety does appear to be gaining in awareness however there is evidence to suggest that it is still a considerable way behind when compared to other forms of work related safety. Research does suggest however that fleet safety, given its current status and scope, does provide significant opportunities for improving road safety generally. (Murray 2002; Haworth et al 2000) Therefore researching ways to improve fleet safety should be given a greater priority. This study looked at what is currently being done from a number of corporate fleet operators. We will look at the range of interventions and countermeasures being used to improve safety and to reduce traffic incidents. We will also seek to identify what practices are in place to improve awareness on the issue. Finally we will aim to assess if there is a relationship between an organisation s safety culture and its approach to fleet safety generally. A brief summary of work related fleet safety Within the broader context of overall road safety there are a number of specific user groups. Clearly one of the most significant areas is work related driving and fleet safety. This issue is rapidly emerging as a major concern for fleet operators however, there appears to be a lack of consistency in its level of recognition within industry. This inconsistency is also evident by the various processes employed by different organisations in dealing with the issue itself. However there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that this culture is changing. There were legal requirements governing work related driving. Previously responsibility for work related driving came under the Work Place Health and Safety Act. The exact laws that applied did vary slightly in each of the different states around Australia. 2

However recent changes under the Chain of Responsibility Legislation has sought to provide a greater level consistency nationally. It has seen an expansion of the various definitions and an increase in the responsibilities of employers. This has lead to a heightened level of interest in the issue. Australian research has revealed that road crashes are the most common cause of work related fatalities, injuries and absence from work. (Haworth et al., 2000) Therefore the implications for work related driving are significant and impact the whole community. It is estimated that it costs business more than $1 billion dollars per annum. (ATSB 2003) The payout figures for workers compensation are also considerable. Seljack and Maddock (2002) (cited Travelsafe 2002) suggested that almost $17 million was paid out in workers compensation claims in Queensland for injuries and illnesses sustained from work related road crashes during 1999-2000. Of course there are additional social and emotional costs resulting from road trauma that cannot be measured simply in dollars. Current Practices Work related road safety is some what unique in the sense that it tends to fall in to a virtual no-man s land in terms of responsibility. Traditionally, fleet management focused primarily on the management of the asset (Haworth, Tingvall & Kowadlo, 2000) but as OH&S laws increased, some fleet managers were forced into dealing with fleet safety as an additional responsibility. Until this point road crashes and incidents were seen as the transport authority s concern. Basically it wasn t viewed as the employer s responsibility and the only real area of concern was to make sure the employee held a current driver s licence. This situation did begin to change however, work related road safety remained considerably further behind other areas of occupational health and safety. It was also not generally viewed with the same level of priority as other OH&S issues. Previous studies suggested that fleet safety had an any practice is best practice culture. Whilst awareness was increasing, fleet safety was managed reactively rather than proactively. There was also evidence that fleets adopted a Silver Bullet approach (Wishart & Davey 2004) looking for a magic solution to the issue. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that there were few resources available to assist fleet mangers in controlling fleet safety. In recent times governments and other key stakeholders have produced a number of resources to assist in this regard. There is also no current best practice standard. Fleets and corporate organisations are largely free to adopt any approach and some of these are not necessarily supported by research evidence. It also needs to be considered that fleets are diverse in their needs and work tasks. 3

Therefore these aspects need to be taken into account in both their approach fleet safety and the countermeasures they adopt in managing the road safety culture. In all likelihood one size does will not fit all. Research Program The aim of this qualitative study was to attempt to gain an understanding of how fleet safety is currently being managed within a selection of corporate fleets. We wanted to identify the range of issues facing fleet operators and investigate the corporate culture towards fleet safety. This data would provide greater insights into the scope of current fleet safety practices and the general attitude towards work related road safety. It would also provide information that may help structure future fleet safety interventions. Four different fleets were chosen for the research and interviews were arranged with each of the fleet managers. The sample group was selected to represent a broad cross section of the commercial fleet sector. The fleets differed considerably in terms of size, vehicle selection and work tasks. Each of the participants was asked a series of questions to help build an overall profile of the organisation s approach to fleet safety. We also observed the organisation s general safety culture where ever possible. Method For this research project a series of face to face and telephone interviews were conducted with four individual corporate fleet operators. Each of these fleets was quite different in terms of its operational requirements and vehicle types. The aim was to provide a broad snap shot of the overall fleet safety culture within these organisations and how they dealt with the various issues around work related driving. Sample Fleet A This fleet was solely based in the Brisbane region and consisted of around 30 light sedan vehicles. The primary task of the fleet was to provide transport for the organisations staff to visit home care patients around Brisbane. Staff would be required to visit a number of patients each day. Staff were also permitted to drive their vehicles for private use outside of working hours. Sample Fleet B The next fleet consisted of mainly large heavy vehicles. Whilst there were some smaller vehicles these represented less than 10% of the total fleet of 250 vehicles. The majority of the fleet was based on the Darling Downs however their operational field extended throughout most of Queensland and into Northern New South Wales. 4

Sample Fleet C The third fleet consisted of around 1300 vehicles and whilst some were based in the South East Queensland the majority were spread across the state. This fleet also presented a diverse range of vehicles including small sedans, four wheel drive vehicles and light to heavy trucks. The work also involved a significant amount of rural and off-road driving. Sample Fleet D The final fleet was the largest and the most diverse. It has a total of around 14,000 vehicles and the fleet operates nationally across Australia. The vehicle mix consists of a broad range of light, heavy and commercial vehicles. These are also sourced from a number of different manufacturers. Each fleet manager was contacted directly and appointments were scheduled in order to conduct the interviews. Each manager was asked a series of questions relating to their organisations view of fleet safety. Their responses were documented at the time of the interviews. The discussions and the interview process itself lasted for around 60 minutes. Key Questions In this study we asked three primary questions and sought input from individual fleet operators. These questions were as follows: 1) What are their attitudes towards driving in the workplace and road use in general? 2) What are individual fleet s currently doing to address the issue? 3) What are some of the issues that prevent them from introducing additional countermeasures? The Results Discussing these points with each of the fleet managers did highlight some interesting findings. It showed that each of the fleets did have different approaches to how they view and manage fleet safety. What are their attitudes towards driving in the workplace and road use in general? All for the four fleet managers expressed a strong and positive attitude towards fleet safety and road safety generally. However, it was clear that the three larger organisations demonstrated a much stronger commitment to the issue and where more advanced in terms of actual policies and procedures. These included documented policies, specific vehicle selection criteria, education, road safety training and monitoring programs. The larger fleets also demonstrated a far higher level of resources to the issue of fleet management. Their systems did reflect a more proactive approach. This proactive approach (Rowland, Wishart & Davey 2006) involves continuous programs and initiatives to help prevent crashes not simply reacting to incidents once they had occurred. It also means employing a range of fleet safety interventions. 5

Interestingly, this approach was clearly evident throughout these larger organisations as a whole. A culture of safety governed the rest of their work practices and appeared to influence their attitudes towards safety in general. This was consistent with previous research which suggested that fleet safety culture could be directed by the overall safety climate of an organisation. (Wills, Biggs & Watson 2004) The smaller organisations however did not demonstrate this same level of commitment and didn t appear to have an overall safety culture. What are individual fleets doing to address the issue? Whilst all the fleets did show a strong commitment to fleet safety, each one employed a different range of activities to manage the issue. The smallest fleet (fleet A) was the only not to have any real policies in place. Whilst they saw fleet safety as important it was over-shadowed by the daily work load. The organisation was heavily focused on job performance and meeting the minimum quota of patient visits. Fleet safety was starting to emerge as an issue that would need to be addressed, but it was seen as secondary to the completing the primary business tasks. It also appeared that both staff numbers and resources were other key limiting factors for greater participation in fleet safety. Having said that, the research did show that the issue was at least on the radar for additional attention. This suggests that awareness on the issue is increasing in the small fleet sector. The other three fleets did demonstrate a significant level of awareness and commitment to fleet safety. All three had dedicated safety officers and managers who were responsible for fleet safety. This commitment was also evident in other areas of the company s organisational structure and there was a strong level of importance on the overall safety culture. In other words the fleet safety approach was simply a bi-product of a proactive attitude towards safety generally. (Wills, Biggs & Watson 2006) This holistic approach is driven throughout the entire organisation and appears to be consistent with previous research which suggests that there are links between an organisation s general safety climate and driver safety in the workplace. (Wills et al., 2004; Wills, Biggs & Watson 2006) These larger fleets all had a range of policies and procedures relating to work related road safety. Firstly it was evident that safety was important and this philosophy was driven from the highest corporate levels. There was also a structure of responsibility where senior managers were responsible for fleet safety. This was not evident with the smaller fleet. Each of the larger fleets employed a range of initiatives which included: Satellite tracking of vehicles to ensure correct task performance as well as speed and fatigue management. Internal safety awareness programs. 6

Driver training and education programs. In vehicle supervision and assessments. Induction programs. Incident investigation and monitoring. Vehicle selection policies to match job requirements. Vehicle maintenance policies such as pre-drive checks. These fleets were also actively seeking new interventions and were open to looking various forms on ongoing training as well as on-line induction programs. Overall these organisations were constantly looking to develop a best practice model and demonstrated a proactive rather than a reactive approach to dealing with fleet safety. What are some of the issues that prevent them from introducing additional countermeasures? Here again the smaller fleet (fleet A) did face a number of additional road blocks to fleet safety that were not as apparent with the larger organisations. Fleet safety was given less importance and was not seen a high priority by management. The smaller fleet was more reactive it is approach and demonstrated a slight Silver Bullet (Wishart & Davey 2004) approach to the issue. Essentially they were looking at a specific countermeasure rather than a more holistic approach. This approach did appear to be influenced by a number of additional organisational factors. These included logistical issues, job performance stresses (Wills, Biggs & Watson 2006) financial as well as physical resources and management buy in. It was also evident for the discussions with the smaller fleet manager that size of the issue itself was a contributing factor. The perceived scope was seen as over whelming (Wills, Biggs & Watson 2006) and this also limited the motivation to take action. The larger organisations didn t appear to have any of these issues. They were prepared to investigate new innovations and if successful, were prepared to commit additional resources to implement them. They were also actively looking for new ways to manage fleet safety generally. Conclusions The study did provide some valuable data on current fleet safety practices. All the fleets expressed a strong and positive attitude towards fleet safety. However the approach each organisation used in dealing with the issues varied considerably. The larger organisations did demonstrate a much stronger level of commitment to the issue and were more advanced in terms of actual polices and procedures. This was consistent with what has been described as effective fleet management system. This system includes safety audits, an overall OH&S approach, correct policies, vehicle selection, driver programs, data and incident monitoring and evaluation against standards. (Murray 2002) 7

Previous research from (Wishart & Davey 2004) stated that historically many fleets adopted a Silver Bullet approach to work related fleet safety. Essentially this meant the primary approach to deal with the issue was largely reactive. However the results from this study suggest that this many not necessarily be the case today. Certainly the larger organisations did demonstrate a more proactive approach and a strong level of commitment to the issue. This suggests that fleet safety is receiving a greater level of recognition within the larger organisations. On the other hand the smaller fleet did not have that same level of commitment to the issue. There could be a number of factors contributing to this situation currently which may include awareness, perceived cost verses benefit and general motivation. Overseas studies have also highlighted these findings. Smaller fleets do not generally have the resources to commit to safety until it becomes a major issue. (Murray 2002) The smaller fleet did face a number of challenges in terms of sourcing management support and implementing countermeasures. These were largely organisational and resource factors. In addition it appeared that whilst fleet safety was important to them it was seen as a secondary issue compared to competing the work tasks. In fact the organisation was under considerable pressure to meet daily visit quotas and as a result road safety was seen more as something we should do rather than as something we must do. Clearly resources and manpower were two major limiting factors for the smaller fleet. Further study into the small fleet sector would be helpful to see if this remains the case for fleets of this size generally in Australia. Once again the overseas study would suggest that this is likely to still be the case here. Limitations for this current study This research project was structured to obtain a general overview on how the issue of work related road safety was viewed and managed within the sample organisations. Clearly the sample size undertaken was limited due a number of factors. These included available timeframe, overall resources and access to the fleet managers themselves. The fact that each fleet was made up of different vehicle types and job tasks also needs to be taken into consideration when viewing the results of the study. However we feel that the study did provide a good cross section and a solid representation of the diverse nature of these fleets. It also provided an overview on the general types of issues they face. It certainly provided some strong insights and a foundation for new research on the issue in the future. 8

It would be interesting for future research to further investigate a larger number of individual fleet operations within the four main fleet segments. This could help to further identify additional issues and assist in designing specific countermeasures and management programs. References Boorman, S., (1999) Reviewing car fleet performance after advanced driver training.occup. Med. Vol 49, No 8pp. 559-561 Clarkson, W (1999) Duty of care and occupational safety and health considerations in relation to corporate road safety. WorkSafe Western Australia. Davey, J.,Wishart, D., Freeman, J.and Watson, B.(2006) An application of the driver behaviour questionnaire in an Australian organisational fleet setting. Gregerson, N., Brehmer, B. and Moren, B. (1996) Road safety improvements in large companies. An experimental comparison of different measures. Haworth, N., Tingvall, C and Kowadlo, N. (2000) Review of best practice fleet initiatives in the corporate and/or business environment (Report No.166)Monash University Accident Research Centre. Newman, S., Watson, B. and Murray, W. (2002). A comparison of the factors influencing the safety of work-related drivers in a work and personal vehicle. Paper published in the proceedings of the RS2002 conference, Adelaide. Murray,W.,Newman,S.,Watson,B., Davey, J. and Schonfeld, C. (2002). Evaluating and improving fleet safety in Australia, ATSB report. New South Wales Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) Safer Work Driving website www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/saferworkdriving/index.html Rowland, B., Wishart, D. and Davey, J. (2006) Occupational Fleet Safety Research: A case study approach. Stradling, S. G., Meadows, M.L., & Beatty, S. (2001). Driving as part of your work may damage your health. In G.B. Crayson (Ed.), Behavioural research in road safety IX, Crowthorne; Transport Research Laboratory. Travelsafe 34. Travel Safe Committee of the 50th parliament, report no.34, report on the symposium on work-related road trauma and fleet risk management in Australia, Brisbane 2001. Wills, A., Biggs, H. and Watson, B.(2006) Road Safety in corporate fleet settings: Approaches from organisational and industrial psychology. Wills, A., Biggs, H. and Watson, B. (2004) The relative influence of fleet safety climate on work-related driver safety. 9

Wishart,D., and Davey,J(2004)Occupational Fleet Safety Research: A case study. Workplace Health and Safety Act (1995) Act No. 25 Queensland State Government. 10