Driver training saves lives, increases profits, reduces costs

An innovative UK Government initiative on work-related driver training has resulted in astonishing success, not only in terms of government objectives, but also in substantial cost-benefits for companies and public sector authorities participating in the scheme: they save lives and increase profits/reduce costs Here, we present an overview of the initiative and, overleaf, provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis which amply illustrates why it has been enthusiastically embraced by industry and the public sector in the UK

There are an estimated up to 200 road deaths and serious injuries a week resulting from crashes involving at-work drivers, and more employees are killed and seriously injured on Britain's roads while driving on behalf of their employer than in any other work-related activity.

The UK is not unusual in having such depressing statistics. For instance, in the US, nearly 25 per cent (1,215) of US occupational fatalities were attributable to highway accidents, according to the 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, while transportation incidents in general accounted for some 40 per cent of all workplace fatalities that year. And that's not even counting the cost and misery, personal, family, corporate and societal, of serious injuries.

Work-related driving fatalities and serious injuries are a global problem, often exacerbated by the increase in distracted driving through in-vehicle phone, text and e-mail.

Higher priority

Recognising the need to focus on reducing work-related driving casualties, in 2007 the UK Secretary of State for Transport asked the Motorists' Forum how employers could be encouraged to give a higher priority to road safety for those who drive cars or vans for business purposes. Their key recommendations were:

• The need to make employers aware that workplace Health and Safety Legislation applies equally to work-related travel and should be applied in the same way as in the workplace.

• The need for a systematic programme of outreach designed to coordinate a network of employer champions drawn from public, private and voluntary sectors who will work through employer networks and associations to deliver awareness.

Formally launched in April 2007, 993 Driving for Better Business was a result of these recommendations. The original programme of outreach has further developed into a campaign to recruit more organisations to champion work-related road safety and engage with an ever-increasing network of other employers.

Innovative structure

From the outset, the Secretary of State for Transport delegated the development and management of the campaign to 995 RoadSafe, under contract to the UK 1837 Department for Transport (DfT), which spearheads the initiative. This innovative structure and methodology enabled the DfT to avoid imposing ever-more legislation on work-related road safety on business while improving driving for work standards and the wider societal benefits it brings.

Moreover, by delegating implementation to RoadSafe, the scheme avoids a cumbersome governmental bureaucracy approach.
RoadSafe is a partnership of leading companies in the motor and transport industries in Britain, the government and road safety professionals. Its key objective is to work together to further reduce deaths and injuries caused by road accidents and promote safer road use. Through its Driving for Better Business campaign, it aims to raise awareness of the importance of work-related road safety in the business community and public sector, by using advocates drawn from these communities to promote the business benefits of managing it effectively.

While RoadSafe has developed a range of tools in implementing its Driving for Better Business campaign, the most effective is its use of Business Champions. The list of these active participants is currently 47 strong and they range from internationally recognised businesses, such as 3M, Johnson&Johnson, TNT, Tesco.Dotcom, to some small SMEs, as well as several public authorities and councils. Indeed, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has just become the first emergency service in the UK to become a champion.

In common

What they all have in common is a good record of managing 'at work' drivers and they have all produced a detailed case study highlighting the business benefits they gain as a result of managing their drivers effectively. As the case studies invariably demonstrate, improved safety is almost a by-product of the higher calibre of business management which this type of culture achieves.

Of huge importance to the success of the initiative is the fact that RoadSafe's business champions are also prepared to give presentations in business gatherings about what they are doing. This peer-to-peer approach, always highlighting the bottom line business benefits of improved work-related driving, has become the cornerstone of the entire campaign.

RoadSafe has also built a loose network of some 15,000 businesses and public bodies which receive information about the campaign and about 6,500 businesses are involved directly through its eNewsletter network.

Not rocket science

It has to be said that the fundamental method through which RoadSafe and its business champions underline the enormous savings and bottom line benefits that improving work-related driving practices provide are not rocket science, or even technological. Nor are they costly. The Driving for Better Business website (www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com) has a toolkit which underlines a total of just 10 essential policy elements - under the headings of management, driver safety, vehicle safety and journey planning - that any organisation, public or private, large or small, could easily implement to begin to achieve similar results as the RoadSafe business champions.

Having said that, RoadSafe is actively promoting the adoption of advanced vehicle safety systems by business fleet buyers. It's no surprise that it is doing this through its business champion approach, which again highlights the bottom line benefits.

As Adrian Walsh, RoadSafe director, says, "Fleet decision-makers rightly focus on driver behaviour, but many seem to overlook the importance of buying or leasing safe vehicles. They must look out for those equipped with the latest technology, such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and those with the highest Euro NCAP ratings." His point is well made. Research released in July, 2010, by 990 eSafetyAware, shows 60 per cent of fleet managers and decision-makers surveyed from 10 countries across Europe, believe safety is an important consideration when procuring vehicles. However, further responses in the survey, carried out by Applied Marketing and Communications Research on behalf of eSafety Aware, show many are simply not acting on their beliefs.

Less than a third (28 per cent), said they look for a Euro NCAP rating when purchasing cars and vans. Only 42 per cent said their policies considered duty of care. Some 41 per cent said there were no requirements for specific safety equipment in vehicles for their fleets, and substantial numbers were unaware of, or uninterested in, the latest electronic safety technologies.

Strong business case

Walsh is emphatic: "There is a strong business case for investing in eSafety in fleets. Evidence from our campaign partners proves this," he says and cites the example of 992 Arval UK, a BNP Paribas Group company and a RoadSafe champion.

The fleet and fuel management company only purchases vehicles for its drivers that have ESC, and it provides a strong business case for employing eSafety.

Between 2007 and 2009, the number of incidents in Arval's fleet fell from 40 per cent to 25 per cent. Since 2003/04, this ongoing decline has helped cut fleet repair costs by more than 50 per cent.

Arval says investment in eSafety technologies has helped to achieve this. Compulsory extras in its fleet already included Advanced Braking Systems and reverse parking sensors, and in July 2008, ESC was also made a mandatory safety feature on all new company cars.

Arval fleet and road safety manager, Tracey Scarr: "Around 40 per cent of fatal road accidents are a result of skidding and studies show that ESC will dramatically reduce this. Obviously, there is no substitute for careful driving, but this is a valuable safety feature that will help reduce the risk of death or serious injury for our drivers.

"The benefits are broad as ESC does not just make drivers safer, it also helps fleets meet their ongoing duty of care responsibilities, and reduce their accident costs. With this in mind we believe that fleets should be making the technology a standard requirement when selecting vehicles." In light of its success in improving safety, Arval won the Fleet Safety Award at this year's eSafety Challenge held in July at the Millbrook Proving Ground in the UK.