Improving Work-Related Road Safety in New Zealand

The PROACTIVE Model

A PROACTIVE model provides a basis for implementing a fleet risk management process. Applying the ideas in the Haddon Matrix fits the PROACTIVE model. This involves:

Policy - doing it rather than just having one
Risk assessments and safety audits
Occupational health and safety integration
Assessment and relevant training for managers, supervisors, work schedulers and drivers
Crash investigation, data analysis and corrective action process
Trade off analysis - particularly between operational and safety costs
Implementation and change management - using the Haddon Matrix as a framework
Very enthusiastic management Safety Champions
Evaluation of quantitative, cost and qualitative key performance indicators (KPIs), on an on-going basis.

Many organisations that have a fleet safety policy rarely do anything to implement it. Only the best organisations live it, breathe it, make it happen and understand the wider trade-offs and relationships with quality, business effectiveness, customer service, environmental sustainability, company image and public relations.

Occupational health and safety structures and approaches provide an excellent framework for improving fleet safety, and will become more important as vehicles increasingly become recognised as workplaces - both in law and in practice. Assessment and auditing should come before any training - to identify needs. Managers, supervisors and work schedulers should be included in training, before drivers.

Detailed claims analysis and investigation allows a better understanding of the extent, costs and treatment of the problem. All fleets are managing their insurance more effectively. Trade-off analysis, implementation and change management skills are all key requirements in improving fleet safety. Evaluation is a vital element in fleet safety - because it lets you see that you are doing the right things - or not. It also helps to justify the cost of change and identify areas for future action to manage occupational road risk.

The HADDON MATRIX

Whatever the motivation for focusing on improving work-related road safety, the next step is to gain a detailed understanding of the current situation or 'where are we now?' The Haddon Matrix^[2] (Figure 6) is a very useful self audit tool. It is used simply by asking the question 'do we have the following in place?' for each of the statements in the matrix. Analysis of the available data (typically insurance claims) allows the extent and full costs of the problem to be understood. Employee surveys and focus groups allow a consultation, involvement and pledging process to be developed.

[2] William Haddon was an American epidemiologist specializing in road traffic injuries. His original focus on the road, vehicle and driver has been extended here to include journey planning, management culture and societal issues.

Figure 6 - Work-related road safety countermeasures in a Haddon Matrix framework

	Management culture	Journey	Road/site environment	Drivers and managers	Vehicle	Society/community
Pre-crash	Mission statement Policy and procedures Organisational climate tools Management structure Board level champion Quality-led safety committee Safety pledge	Travel surveys Purpose Need to travel Modal choice Journey planning and route selection Shifts/working time	Risk assessments Guidelines Site layouts Road improvement	Selection Recruitment Induction Training handbook Risk assessmentvIncentives Driving pledge Monitoring Corrective action	Selection Maintenance Checking Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to monitor	Marketing program Community involvement Safety groups Road Safety Week Conference circuit Media and public relations Safety awards External benchmarking Regulator briefings and involvement
At scene	Emergency support to driver	-	Manage scene	Use known process to manage scene	Crashworthy ITS to capture data	Escalation process
Post-crash	Report, record, investigate and evaluate Change management	Debrief and review	Investigate and improve	Debrief driver. Counselling & support Reassess/ remedial training	Investigate ITS data Vehicle inspection & repair	Manage reputation and community learning process

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