HELPING EMPLOYEES WITH ROAD SAFETY

Employers are taking their responsibility to provide a safe workplace and appropriate safety training more and more seriously. The consequences of not doing this can be severe. These requirements extend into employees' driving - employers have to provide safe vehicles and have to ensure that there is appropriate training in place and appropriate remedial training if an employee appears to be at risk.

This doesn't mean that employers should send their staff to advanced driving skills programs - there is no scientific evidence that these programs improve safety and employers who do this are probably not meeting their OH&S responsibilities.  It does mean that employers should have a safe vehicle and safe driving policy that they adhere to at all times, and it also means that employers should have programs in place that assist those drivers who appear to have a higher risk of crash involvement.

There are a number of "remedial" counselling programs offered for those staff who might be identified as a potential road safety problem.  If a staff member accumulates more than the usual number of fines, or if they are involved in a few minor crashes, they might benefit from this type of program to help them understand the mental and psychological processes that might be placing them at greater risk, and how to reduce their effect so they can be safer. There is good scientific evidence that discussion-based approaches can help people develop a better understanding of their decision-making processes and how these influence their behaviour, and there is good evidence that discussion-based programs can have positive effects on safety.

A word of warning, though...

Many of the commercial programs in this area have been designed by driver trainers and other people without expertise, training, and experience in psychology, counselling, therapy, or behaviour change principles.  Without this expertise it is unlikely that your staff will benefit fully from a program.  Before committing your company and your staff to a program, you should ask some questions:

What qualifications and experience does the program developer and/or presenter have - effective behaviour change programs require psychological expertise. If the program's background is in the driver training/education area.... or worse the motor sports area.... you may be doing more harm than good.

How is the program run - in-car activity might be useful, but it should not be central to the program, should NOT involve training in advanced handling skills like skids and cornering, and should NOT take place on an off-road training area. If there is an in-car component, it should be in real traffic, in the real world, with a focus on safety-related behaviours.

Does the program guarantee success - if so, think about going somewhere else. No-one can guarantee the success of a behaviour-change program!