Lessons continue as RoSPA congress examines at-work driving

Delegates at RoSPAís Road Safety Congress will continue using the lessons of the past to plan for the future today as the three-day conference focuses on the risks faced by people who drive as part of their jobs.

When companies manage occupational road risk effectively, they play a vital part in road casualty reduction. In the UK, it is estimated that between a quarter and a third of all road crashes involve a person and/or a vehicle at work at the time. This means that every week about 200 people are killed or seriously injured in ìat-workî crashes.

RoSPA has led the campaign to put managing occupational road risk (MORR) on the road safety and occupational safety agendas since 1996. Tomorrowís speakers at the Blackpool Hilton Hotel will put the issue under the microscope further.

Saul Jeavons, director of The Transafe Network, will look at the approach taken in other parts of the world, including the Middle East and Asia, arguing that the UK needs to make ìinstitutional changesî to its approach to MORR. He highlights the USA, where automated alerts can be sent to firms when employees receive speeding tickets, as an example of good practice.

Dr Will Murray, research director at Interactive Driving Systems, will also look at international approaches as he addresses congress. He will say that, despite increasing interest in MORR, there are still too few published case studies of organisations which have effectively managed the risks associated with at-work driving and a similarly scant amount of published road safety evaluations focusing on both process and collision reduction outcomes.

RoadSafeís Caroline Scurr will deliver an address about the Driving for Better Business initiative, for which she is programme manager.

Evaluating road safety and the importance of evidence-based interventions are also on tomorrowís agenda. Among the speakers covering these topics will be Dr Jenny McWhirter, RoSPAís risk education adviser, a joint team from the University of Plymouth and Devon County Council,and Chris Lines, head of road safety at Transport for London.

Roger Bibbings, RoSPAís occupational safety adviser, who last week attended an international conference on at-work road safety, said: ìBeing killed or injured while driving vehicles as part of oneís job is the biggest risk faced by most workers.

ìIf employers address this issue as part of mainstream health and safety at work, not only will more workers go home safe at the end of the day but there will be a major drop in road casualty figures.î

RoSPAís 74th Road Safety Congress is sponsored by Britax Excelsior Ltd.