Activity Four Facilitator's Notes : What is different with driving at work?
Driving for work can give rise to many different situations which a driver may not have encountered as a learner.
In this section delegates are encouraged to consider some of the reasons behind the differences and what effect they have on the way they use the road.
Facilitator's Notes
The questions we used along with the discussions were:
Q1) Road traffic accidents whilst at work are the largest cause of occupational fatality in the UK.
True or False?
Answer: True.
Many delegates were surprised by the answer to Q1, and it was one of the questions that was most frequently answered incorrectly in all the pilot workshops. Some delegates cited examples of traditionally dangerous industries, which they perceived as a larger cause of fatal accidents whilst at work.
You can use this opportunity to stress the importance of driving for work.
Q2) Wearing a seat belt can reduce your risk of death by how much?
A) 25%
B) 45%
C) 65%
Answer: C
Most delegates answered this question correctly. There were various attitudes to wearing seat belts in the pilots, ranging from delegates reporting that they never wear a seat belt, to others reporting that they could not understand why people did not.
In the discussion, we introduced the wearing of seat belts as one of those things that a driver can do to protect themselves against the actions of others (referring back to the third quote in Activity 3). If there were non-wearers in the workshop then we asked them to explain their rationale behind not wearing a belt, especially if other peers in the group reported that they did. In one group a participant provided a counter-example of where a seat belt had prevented a fatal or serious injury.
Where a participant reported that they don't understand why someone wouldn't wear a seat belt, we pointed out that others wouldn't understand a more common dangerous practice, such as speeding, to encourage the participant to apply their beliefs to more common dangerous habits.
Q3) At-work van and company car drivers are more likely to cause an accident than to become involved as a blameless party.
True or False?
Answer: True
Most of the groups in the pilot correctly answered this question. We created a discussion around this question by asking what it is about at-work driving which makes company van and car drivers more likely to be the party which causes an accident.
Q4) Most road traffic accidents occur on motorways?
True or False?
Answer: False
A large number of groups in the pilot also answered this correctly, although some did answer incorrectly.
During the pilot workshops, we found that this question was a good prompt to discuss the risks on different types of roads. Statistics were presented on a flip chart on the number of accidents and fatal accidents on rural roads, urban roads, and motorways along with sample images of each environment. The delegates were asked to discuss what it was about the different types of road, which influenced the statistics.
On several occasions, we highlighted the difference between perceived safety and actual safety on different classes of roads, and how the perception of safety can lead drivers to take more risks – for example, going faster because a country road looks like it's free of traffic.
Q5) The greatest proportion of failed roadside breath tests occur in which of these age groups?
a) 17 - 19
b) 20 - 24
c) 25 - 29
d) 30 - 39
e) 40 - 49
Answer: B
Many of the delegates incorrectly stated that 40-49 was the age group most likely to fail a roadside breath test.
During the discussion, some delegates attempted to justify this by arguing that older drivers were less likely to be stopped for drink driving, although in this instance the facilitators stressed that the question referred to the proportion of failed roadside breath tests in each age group, rather than the total number.
Q6) For all types of road and for all accidents, 'failure to look properly', is the most frequently reported contributory factor.
True or False?
Answer: True
This question links back to the opening activity about visual scanning. Although it was not used to create large discussions in the pilot workshops, this question offers the opportunity to ask the younger drivers to describe the different causes of accidents, and how they think they are related – for example, would failure to look properly make the results of speeding worse, and what causes people to fail to look properly?
Q7) 'Driver behaviour or inexperience', 'injudicious actions' (e.g. disobeying road signs), and 'road environment', are more likely to be contributory factors for accidents in which age group?
a) 17 – 24 yrs
b) 25 – 69
c) 70 +
Answer: A
During the pilots we found that several groups answered this incorrectly by selecting the 70+ age group. Again, this highlights the role of inexperience in crash risk.
Q8) For at-work van and pick-up drivers, accidents are most frequent in the 21-25 year age band.
True or False?
Answer: True
Many groups answered this question correctly. This discussion can help to link to some of the previous themes about both inexperience, from Activity 3, and at-work driving, from Questions 1 and 3. When summarising the quiz questions and the evidence on how inexperience and work-related driving increase crash risk, we referred back to this statistic.
Q9) The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act (2007) covers fatal employee accidents on the road as well as in the workplace.
True or False?
Answer: True
The purpose behind this question is to establish that not only do employees have a responsibility towards safety, but it's also shared with their employer. This is a theme which is developed throughout the workshop and highlights to the young drivers that their employer can be a source of support due to legal reasons.
Q10) It is estimated that just under one-quarter of all road traffic incidents involve someone who was at work at the time.
True or False?
Answer: False
Although this was a trick question, many of the teams in the pilot workshop correctly identified that the answer was false, because the figure is estimated to be between one quarter and one third.
Summary
In the pilot workshops, we summarised the conclusions of the delegates at the end of this section. The main points are:
- Encountering new situations, and reacting improperly due to inexperience is a cause of accidents
- Some experience may be relevant to safe driving, other experience may reinforce dangerous habits. The point is for them to reflect upon their experience to challenge negative safety perceptions
- New situations can be encountered when driving for work
- There are many different reasons why driving at work is different from the driving undertaken during the test
- Both the employer and the employee has responsibility for their safety whilst at work
References
Q1. Clarke, D.W., Ward, P., Bartle, C., and Truman, W. (2005) An in-depth study of work related road traffic accidents: Road Safety Research Report No. 58 London: DfT, pp.5.
Q2. Cummings, P. McKnight, B. Rivara, F. Grossman, D.(2002) 'Association of driver air bags with driver fatality: a matched cohort study' British Medical Journal 324:1119- 1122.
Q3. Clarke, D.W., Ward, P., Bartle, C., and Truman, W. (2005) An in-depth study of work related road traffic accidents: Road Safety Research Report No. 58 London: DfT, pp.15.
Q4. DfT (2008) Road Casualties Great Britain: 2007 Annual Report London:TSO, pp. 105, 107.
Q5. DfT (2008) Road Casualties Great Britain: 2007 Annual Report London:TSO, pp. 35.
Q6. DfT (2008) Road Casualties Great Britain: 2007 Annual Report London:TSO, pp. 39.
Q7. DfT (2008) Road Casualties Great Britain: 2007 Annual Report London:TSO, pp. 48.
Q8. Clarke, D.W., Ward, P., Bartle, C., and Truman, W. (2005) An in-depth study of work related road traffic accidents: Road Safety Research Report No. 58 London: DfT, pp.18.
Q9. www.justice.gov.uk/guidancemanslaughteractguidance.htm and www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg382.pdf See also: www.orsa.org.uk
Q10. Dykes, R. (2001) Reducing at-work road traffic incidents, Report to Government and the Health and Safety Commission, London: TSO, pp.21.
Share this page: