Elsevier

Safety Science

Volume 49, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 369-381
Safety Science

Review
Work-related driving safety in light vehicle fleets: A review of past research and the development of an intervention framework

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2010.09.018Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper presents a critical review of past research in the work-related driving field in light vehicle fleets (e.g., vehicles < 4.5 tonnes) and an intervention framework that provides future direction for practitioners and researchers. Although work-related driving crashes have become the most common cause of death, injury, and absence from work in Australia and overseas, very limited research has progressed in establishing effective strategies to improve safety outcomes. In particular, the majority of past research has been data-driven, and therefore, limited attention has been given to theoretical development in establishing the behavioural mechanism underlying driving behaviour. As such, this paper argues that to move forward in the field of work-related driving safety, practitioners and researchers need to gain a better understanding of the individual and organisational factors influencing safety through adopting relevant theoretical frameworks, which in turn will inform the development of specifically targeted theory-driven interventions. This paper presents an intervention framework that is based on relevant theoretical frameworks and sound methodological design, incorporating interventions that can be directed at the appropriate level, individual and driving target group.

Research highlights

► Work-related driving crashes have become the most common cause of death, injury, and absence from work in Australia and overseas. ► Majority of past research has been data-driven, and therefore, limited attention has been given to theoretical development in establishing the behavioural mechanism underlying driving behaviour. ► This paper presents a critical review of past research in the work-related driving field in light vehicle fleets (e.g., vehicles < 4.5 tonnes) and an intervention framework that provides future direction for practitioners and researchers.

Introduction

Road crashes are now the most common cause of work-related injury, death and absence in a number of countries. Given the impact of work-related driving crashes on social and economic aspects of business and the community, work-related road safety and risk management has received increasing attention in recent years. However, limited academic research has progressed on improving safety within the work-related driving sector, particularly in light vehicle fleets. The aim of this paper is to present a review of work-related driving safety research to date, and provide an intervention framework for the future development and implementation of work-related driving safety strategies for light vehicle fleets.

Section snippets

What is a work-related driver?

A fleet is referred to as a group of vehicles within an organisation most commonly used for the transportation of material or people. Work-related driving safety, or fleet safety, involves the management of fleet vehicles, and more importantly, the management of individuals who drive fleet vehicles. Work-related drivers, or fleet drivers, are commonly defined as those who drive at least once per week for work-related purposes, including those who commute to and from work (Haworth et al., 2000,

Methodology

The following discussion will present a review of the work-related driving literature specifically relating to light vehicle fleets (i.e., vehicles < 4.5 tonnes). Although a large body of research has identified workplace safety as an important issue within commercial vehicle fleets (i.e., trucks and motor coaches) (e.g., Adams-Guppy and Guppy, 2003, Glendon, 2007, Arboleda et al., 2003, Arnold and Hartley, 2001, Caird and Kline, 2004, Morrow and Crum, 2004, Sullman et al., 2002) there is greater

Extent of the problem

Identifying the true extent of the ‘fleet driver effect’ (see Grayson, 1999) or ‘work-related driver effect’ (see Newnam et al., 2002) is difficult considering that jurisdictions in Australia and overseas do not monitor purpose of journey information on crash reporting forms (Bomel Ltd., 2004, Murray et al., 2003). As such, national statistics on light vehicles may under-represent the true extent of the problem as the figures do not generally account for company vehicles. However, a number of

Theoretical development

Theoretical development in the work-related driving field has been limited with the majority of research being either anecdotal or data-driven (i.e., Haworth et al., 2000, Murray et al., 2003, Stradling et al., 2000). Although anecdotal and data-driven research has provided significant insight into the extent of the work-related driving problem, it is limited in that it does not provide the theoretical foundation for establishing the development and improvement of interventions designed to

Work-related driving safety interventions

Work-related safety interventions have traditionally been focused at the individual or driver level. These interventions have tended to reflect micro-level initiatives, such as driver training, and behaviour modification strategies. Interventions such as these typically require external individuals to conduct the interventions and modify behaviour through introducing short-term rewards that outweigh immediate costs (e.g., safe driving practices). More recently, work-related driving

Intervention framework

So far, this paper has presented work-related driving research to date, including a review of theoretical development and intervention approaches. As stated earlier, past research has been limited in its theoretical approach to understanding driving behaviour and in the development of safety interventions. Furthermore, past research has neglected the broader organisational context in the safety management of work-related drivers. Specifically, although some research has described the processes

Discussion

This paper has provided a review of work-related driving research to date, incorporating literatures in the academic and industrial sectors. The first section of the paper discussed terminology of a work-related driver, and the extent of the work-related driving problem. The second section presented a theoretical discussion of work-related driving research and described some of the theoretical framework utilized in past research. The third section of this paper discussed current work-related

Conclusions

The aim of this paper was to present a review of past research in the work-related driving field, and present an intervention framework that provides future direction for practitioners and researchers. Although work-related driving crashes have become the most common cause of death, injury, and absence from work in Australia and overseas, very limited research has progressed in establishing effective strategies to improve safety outcomes. As such, to move forward in the field of work-related

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledgement the support of the Australian Research Council. The authors would also like to thank Will Murray for his comments on an earlier version of this paper.

References (103)

  • H. Lingard et al.

    Behaviour-based safety management in Hong Kong’s construction industry

    Journal of Safety Research

    (1997)
  • M.A. Machin et al.

    Predicting health outcomes and safety behaviour in taxi drivers

    Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour

    (2004)
  • P.C. Morrow et al.

    Antecedents of fatigue, close calls, and crashes among commercial motor-vehicle drivers

    Journal of Safety Research

    (2004)
  • R.G. Mortimer et al.

    Effects of incentives and enforcement on the use of seat belts by drivers

    Journal of Safety Research

    (1990)
  • S. Newnam et al.

    Factors predicting intentions to speed in a work and personal vehicle

    Transportation Research Part F

    (2004)
  • S. Newnam et al.

    Using Psychological Frameworks to Inform the Evaluation of Fleet Safety Initiatives

    Safety Science

    (2006)
  • S.A. Newnam et al.

    Predicting the safety performance of volunteers: does motivation for volunteering influence driving behavior?

    Safety Science

    (2009)
  • B. Oz et al.

    An investigation of the relationship between organizational climate and professional drivers’ driver behaviours

    Safety Science

    (2010)
  • S. Salminen

    Two interventions for the prevention of work-related road crashes

    Accident Analysis and Prevention

    (2008)
  • S. Salminen et al.

    Risk factors in work-related traffic

    Transportation Research Part F

    (2002)
  • C. Strahan et al.

    Can organisational safety climate and occupational stress predict work-related driver fatigue?

    Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour

    (2008)
  • M.J.M. Sullman et al.

    Aberrant driving behaviours amongst New Zealand truck drivers

    Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour

    (2002)
  • A.M. Williamson et al.

    The development of a measure of safety climate: the role of safety perceptions and attitudes

    Safety Science

    (1997)
  • A.R. Wills et al.

    Comparing safety climate factors as predictors of work-related driving behaviour

    Journal of Safety Research

    (2006)
  • J. Adams-Guppy et al.

    Speeding in relation to perceptions of risk, utility and driving style by British company car drivers

    Ergonomics

    (1995)
  • J. Adams-Guppy et al.

    Behavior and perceptions related to drink-driving among an international sample of company vehicle drivers

    Journal of Studies on Alcohol

    (1995)
  • J. Adams-Guppy et al.

    Truck driver fatigue risk assessment and management: a multinational survey

    Ergonomics

    (2003)
  • ATA, 2000. TruckSafe Industry Accreditation Standards, Australian Trucking Association,...
  • A. Bandura

    Social Learning Theory

    (1977)
  • Banks, T.D., Davey, J.D., 2005. Work related motor vehicle incident profiles: an analysis of costs and frequencies. In:...
  • Banks, T.D., Davey, J.D., 2010. Identification of barriers to and facilitators for the implementation of occupational...
  • Banks, T.D., Davey, J.D., Biggs, H.C., King, M.J., 2007. Stages of change in the Australian workplace and its...
  • Banks, T.D., Davey, J.D., Biggs, H.C., King, M.J., 2010. A review of the effectiveness of occupational road safety...
  • Bomel Ltd., 2004. Safety Culture and Work-Related Road Accidents, Road Safety Research Report No. 51, Department for...
  • Broughton, J., Baughan, C., Pearce, L., Smith, L., Buckle, G., 2003. Work-related Road Accident, TRL Report 582....
  • I.D. Brown et al.

    Is training contributing enough to road safety?

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006. Fatal Workplace Injuries in 2006: A Collection of Data and Analysis....
  • J.K. Caird et al.

    The relationships between organisational and individual variables to on-the-job driver accidents and accident-free kilometres

    Ergonomics

    (2004)
  • R. Chapman et al.

    A study of the accidents and behaviour of company car drivers

  • A. Cheyne et al.

    Modelling safety climate in the prediction of levels of safety activity

    Work and Stress

    (1998)
  • Christie, R., 1995. Driver Training: What Have We Learned? Paper Prepared for National Roads and Motorists...
  • Christie, R., 2001. The Effectiveness of Driver Training as a Road Safety Measure: A Review of the Literature, Royal...
  • S.S. Clark et al.

    Unprecedented reform: the new tort law 15

    Insurance Law Journal

    (2004)
  • Clarke, D.D., Ward, P., Bartle, C., Truman, W., 2005. An In-depth Study of Work-Related Road Traffic Accidents, Road...
  • Collingwood, V., 1997. Promoting the safe driving policy in NSW fleets of twenty or more vehicles. In: Staysafe 36:...
  • Davey, J., Banks, T., 2005. Estimating the Cost of Work Motor Vehicle Incidents in Australia. Paper to be Presented at...
  • Davey, J.D., Freeman, J.E., Wishart, D.E., 2006. A study predicting crashes among a sample of fleet drivers. In: Road...
  • Davey, J.D., Freeman, J.E., Wishart, D.E., 2008a. Predicting high risk behaviours in a fleet setting: Implications and...
  • Davey, J., Freeman, J., Wishart, D., Rowland, B., 2008b. Developing and implementing fleet safety interventions to...
  • Dimmer, A.R., Parker, D., 1999. The Accident, Attitudes and Behaviour of Company Car Drivers, Report No. 317. Transport...
  • Cited by (0)

    1

    Tel.: +61 7 3138 4955; fax: +61 7 3138 4907.

    View full text