Are you managing your vehicle safety with the same level of consideration as other work hazards

1
Are you managing your vehicle safety with the
same level of consideration as other work hazards?

• CARRS-Q Fleet Safety Team
• Jeremy Davey
• Darren Wishart
• Bevan Rowland
• Tamara Banks
• James Freeman

2
Overview

• Some perspective on risk
• Why do vehicles crash?
• Influences on driving behaviour
• Occupational Health and Safety obligations
• Managing risk
• Case scenarios
• 7 Deadly Sins of Fleet risk management
• Concluding comments

3

• Are you managing the risk associated with your
  motor vehicles with the same level of
  consideration for risk as other pieces of
  equipment or processes?

4
Australia a dangerous place to live?

• Sharks
• Poisonous spiders
• Snakes
• Skydive
• Aircraft
• Road Vehicles

5
Australia a dangerous place to live?

• Sharks
• 2005 10 shark attacks in one year 2 were fatal
• Qld 1 fatality in last 40 years on protected
  beach
• Poisonous spiders
• number of deaths in Australia since 1979 ZERO
• Snakebites
• deaths from snakebite in past 27 years - 40
• Skydiving
• 2007 - 2 fatalities
• Aircraft-
• 2001 22 fatal crashes - Australia has lowest
  accident rate in the world for high capacity
  aircraft

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In Australia every 24 hours

• 4,800 people are involved in a road crash
• 550 people report being injured
• 60 people will be seriously injured and require
  long term
• 5 people die

7
Work Related Injuries

• In Australia, road crashes are the most common
  cause of work related injury, death, and absence
  from work.
• Research suggests up to 49 of all work related
  fatalities involve driving or commuting for work.

8
Why?

• People spend more time in vehicles as part of
  work
• More vehicles on road
• More people are using the vehicle as an office
• Often the largest at risk work activity

9
So whos responsibility is it?

• Previous research undertaken by CARRS-Q within
  organisational fleets revealed the following
  results
• Most organisations at fault crashes accounted
  for more than 60 of all crashes
• Analysis of serious crashes indicated this
  figure jumped to around 90
• 59 of serious crashes involve 4WD vehicles
• Loss of control, reversing and failing to
  obey road rules account for more than 60 of all
  crashes

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Why do we crash?Selected quotes from insurance
report forms
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The vehicle lost control. Coming home, I drove
into the wrong house and collided with a tree I
don't have. I thought my window was down, but I
found out it was up when I put my hand through
it. A pedestrian hit me and went under my
car. The guy was all over the road, I had to
swerve a number of times before I hit him. I
pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at
my mother-in-law and headed over the
embankment. In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove
into a telephone pole.
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Influences on Driver Behaviour

Legislation
Enforcement
Traffic Congestion
Task Conflicts
Distractions
Deterrent Threat
Frustration/ Aggression
Impairment
/Alertness
Psychopathology
Fatigue
Near Misses/Conflicts
Education
Other Drivers
Knowledge
Feedback
Publicity/News
Current Driving Behaviour
Information Processing
Boredom
Stimulus Needs
Human Limits
Skills
Thrill Seeking
Vehicle Handling
Habits
Informal Social Norms
Time Pressure
Experience
Trip Purpose
Value of Present Time
Training
Peer Pressure
Observed Models
Economic Cycle
Family Pressure
Driving Culture
Mobility/Growth
Broad Societal Concerns
Media/ Pop Culture
Risk Acceptance
Conservation
Commercial Advertising
Motor Sport Fun/Adventure
Value of Future Time
Marketing
Source Lonero Clinton (1998)
12
0
Performance vs behaviour

• Higher skill levels (proficiency) does not
  necessarily equate to better behaviour
• US study found that racing car drivers were
  involved in more offences and crashes than
  general drivers (Williams ONeil, 1974).
• Common misunderstanding that improving skills
  (performance) must enhance safety (behaviour)

13
Workplace Health and Safety Obligations

• Occupational Health and Safety legislation
  regards a vehicle used for the purpose of work as
  a workplace.
• Therefore, as a workplace, an employer has an
  obligation or duty of care to ensure the
  workplace is a safe place to work for employees
  and others (including members of the public), and
  that safe work practices and procedures are in
  place.
• In addition, employees also have an obligation to
  comply with your employers health and safety
  instructions, policy and procedures.
• A vehicle is a workplace, therefore, a
  worker/employee is obligated to ensure the safe
  operation/use of the vehicle.

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What are some of the hazards in your current work
environment?
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Currently in your organisation

• What happens if an employee in your organisation
  was ..
• working in an unsafe manner that may cause harm
  to themselves or others?
• operating a piece of equipment incorrectly or
  without PPE?
• breaking the law?

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Fleet Risk Management

• Even though there are no Australian Standard or
  Codes of Practice for Fleet Safety, organisations
  must discharge their obligations as stated in
  OHS Acts, Regulations, and other relevant Codes
  of Practice, for example, the Risk Management
  Code of Practice.

17
Employ Hierarchy of Control

• Elimination
• Substitution
• Engineering- design modify isolate separate
• Administration- policy procedures, job design
• PPE

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Currently in your organisation

• What happens if an employee obtains a speeding or
  red light infringement?
• What happens if an employee is involved in a
  vehicle crash?

19
Scenario (1)

• You are accompanying another driver in a work
  vehicle travelling in a speed zone of 100km/hr.
• You glance at the speedo and notice that you are
  travelling at 120km/hr.
• Are you comfortable with this?
• What will you do about this?

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Scenario (2)

• In every organisation there appears to be
  particular drivers that other employees consider
  either unsafe, risky or not as skilled as others.
  
• What strategies are in place within your
  organisation to make these drivers safer?
• What do you do if you have to be a passenger in a
  vehicle with these drivers?

21

• Are you managing the risk associated with your
  motor vehicles with the same level of
  consideration for risk as other pieces of
  equipment or processes?

22
Seven Deadly Sins of Work Related Road Safety
Risk Management

• WASTE waste of resources including financial
  and human reacting to fleet incidents/costs and
  implementing an off the shelf training program.
  
• DISORDER Poor planning or disorder may lead to
  many unwanted consequences insufficient fleet
  policy and procedures.
• AVOIDANCE evading responsibilities and actions
  not implementing fleet safety initiatives
• ARROGANCE locked into traditional methods and
  not open to new ideas reactive rather than
  proactive reacting to increased fleet incident
  numbers or costs
• IGNORANCE no knowledge or failing to apply
  appropriate risk assessment and control.
  Ignorance is no defence
• APATHY lack of real action or commitment
  having fleet policy procedures in place however
  not followed
• COMPLACENCY illusion that all has been
  accomplished no continuous monitoring or review
  of fleet safety.

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Possible evidence?
StateFleet client faces charges?
StateFleet client caught speeding?
Another StateFleet crash?
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See you in the visitors room in prison

• After all......
• photos
• crash records showing history of the problem
• inaction
• Provide great evidence in court
• d.wishart_at_qut.edu.au
• 07 3138 4885