Managing Road Risk - Five Years On

Article: Managing Road Risk - Five Years On...
Date: 25 January 2012

We can all be proud of the fact that Ireland has become one of the safest countries in the world in which to drive. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of fatalities on Irish roads has fallen by 49% (186 compared to 365). This was no accident - there are many reasons for this improved performance.

Certainly, as a country, our attitude towards road safety and our behaviour behind the wheel has improved. However, in our opinion, much of the credit for this positive change must go to the focus on road safety brought about by the establishment of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in Sept 2006 and it's proactive management of road risk.

The RSA works successfully in partnership with other authorities (e.g. An Garda Siochana, HSA), a wide range of interest groups and communities to drive home awareness of risks associated with driving and our individual role in improving road safety. This challenge to all of us is issued on the basis that collisions are - almost without exception - both predictable and preventable.

The problem however is that while road safety may not be "rocket science", it is complex and there are many factors that determine risk levels.

Some of the contributing factors that have improved our national road safety performance include:
- better roads (we now have 1,187 kms of motorway in Ireland)
- reduction in blood alcohol content (BAC) to 50mg or 20mg for some drivers
- increase in penalty points offences
- enforcement of provisional license / learner permit rules
- mandatory lessons for learner drivers
- regulation of driving instruction
- major increase in road safety awareness campaigns

Steering Clear of Complacency

As in the case of buying financial products, there is a caveat that past performance is not a predictor of the future. Noel Brett, CEO of the RSA recently highlighted just two factors that increase the collision risk. “The tyre market is way down, which is very worrying – and vehicle lubricant sales are down by about 60 per cent. That is really shocking, because it indicates that people aren’t getting cars serviced.”

Driving for Work (DFW) - The Opportunity

Following the success to date of their 2007-2012 road safety strategy and management initiatives, the RSA may well turn it's attention to Driving for Work. There are two key reasons for this: DFW is a factor in about 30% of fatalities and evidence clearly points to employers - with some exceptions and despite the publication of the RSA/HSA "Driving for Work - A Guide for Employers" in June 2009 - not taking basic precautions to minimise loss and harm.

In October 2011, the RSA and HSA released preliminary findings from research conducted among 500 employers in Ireland which painted a startling picture of neglect. Among the main findings of what businesses were doing:

- 47% had no policies or procedures for DFW
- 62% did not provide information to those who DFW
- 47% had no incident reporting system
- 17% had details of average kilometres per employee
- 14% provided induction training
- 84% planned no training in next 12 months

Having taken on long-standing issues such as learner drivers, alcohol, fatigue and speeding, DFW may well be the last significant piece of "low hanging fruit" to be picked by the RSA. In the same way as proactive driver risk management has worked at national level, it can and does work at enterprise level too. Employers have a captive audience of drivers and just like the authorities, organiations can influence activities and in return expect reduced liability, loss & harm exposure.

As 2012 sees the drafting of the next RSA Road Safety Strategy and 2013 is the target date in the HSA's Work Related Vehicle Safety plan for DFW, we look forward to seeing more employers get into the driving seat and making a real difference to what happens on our roads.

Note

About DriverFocus: Since 2007, DriverFocus has helped leading employers in Ireland & the UK manage driver risk & driving-related costs by objectively benchmarking organisational preparedness, identifying those drivers most at-risk & providing a range of low-cost, targeted interventions.