Benefits of Running the Workshop
The workshop can have several benefits for employers. The aim of the workshop is to reduce the risk of accidents. It does this in several ways:
- By influencing young drivers to make safer decisions
- Providing a method of monitoring and reviewing driving for work policies and safety culture
Influencing young drivers to make safer decisions
There are several factors which influence the way people drive and these can be displayed in a hierarchy, where safer decisions in the upper tiers will have an influence on lower tiers. Here is a representation of the tiers of factors 1:
| Goals for life and skills for living |
Goals and context of driving |
Mastering traffic situations |
Vehicle manoeuvring |
- Importance of cars and driving to personal development
- Skills and self-control
- Physical and mental preconditions
|
- Purpose, environment, social context, company
|
- Adapting to the demands of the situation at hand
|
- Controlling speed, direction and position of car
|
Whilst all of these factors represent important areas which can be addressed in order to improve safety, the workshop is focused on the upper two tiers by getting participants to examine the fundamental motives behind the way they drive.
For example, 'goals and context of driving' refers to concepts such as why and when someone makes a journey. All of these can have an influence on the safety of a driver, especially if a factor such as the purpose of a journey (e.g. getting to a destination by a certain time) comes into conflict with getting there safely (e.g. due to rushing).The workshop encourages young drivers to examine these goals in the top two tiers by getting them to discuss and self-evaluate their own experiences. These discussions are intended to give the drivers insight into their own abilities and priorities as a driver. Participants have the opportunity to compare their own experiences and habits with those of their peers, and in some scenarios with an 'ideal' strategy.
From these discussions, drivers can reflect on how they drive and their goals, discuss the barriers to safer driving, and develop coping strategies for dealing with these different situations. After the workshop, it is intended that drivers will put these strategies into action.
Encouraging and developing of self reflection is a fundamental aspect of safe driving and a component of the Driving Standards Agency Competency Framework for Cars and Light Vans Drivers.™
Monitoring and reviewing driving for work policies and safety culture
As well as the decisions about safety that an individual makes, environmental and social factors can influence how people drive. In the context of work, an organisation's safety culture plays a large role in moderating these factors.
The workshop is designed to add to the organisation's knowledge, either by giving opportunity for conversations between the employers and employees (if the workshop is run internally), or by the facilitator feeding back information to the employer. This knowledge can be used by an organisation to develop its safety culture.
Where facilitators are external to the organisation, information can be fed back either by a follow up meeting or through a report. A sample report can be seen here.
Safe driving from the bottom-up
The workshop can be used as part of a strategy to consult employees in order to monitor and review the effectiveness of an organisation's management structures and risk controls.
The workshop can be used to examine whether staff and line managers know the relevant safety policies, and also how often and in what circumstances drivers might not follow them.
The workshop discussions and outputs can act as a gauge to how well the organisations' work related road safety policies are adopted by their drivers in practice. By sharing the concerns of the at-work drivers with their employers, organisations may be able to identify and then address some of the factors which cause their drivers to take dangerous decisions.
If employees identify safer ways of working, then organisations with a good safety culture may help employees carry them out.
References
1 Reducing crashes and injuries among young drivers: what kind of prevention should we be focusing on?, H-Y Berg, Inj Prev 2006;12:i15-i18 doi:10.1136/ip.2006.012062
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/12/suppl_1/i15.full
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