Safety outcomes for incident responders operating on high speed roads: An analysis of the relationship with behaviour, motivation and role clarity

Sharon Newnam,Simon Bruce,Carlyn Muir,Tony Mazzeo,Amanda Stephens,Tim Austin,Feng Chen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247095

Abstract

High-speed roads present a considerable level of risk for frontline workers operating in these environments. To optimise safety, prevention activities need to target the key skills required to mitigate risk. The aim of this research was to explore the behavioural (compliance, participation, voice), motivational (safety motivation) and work demand (role clarity) factors that influence safety outcomes for incident responders working on high-speed roads. Safety outcomes included secondary incidents and near misses with passing vehicles. A total of 295 complete survey responses were received from six emergency service and incident response agencies in one Australian state. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results showed that higher levels of safety voice, safety motivation and, role clarity were significantly associated with safer self-reported safety outcomes after controlling for the number of incidents attended. The findings from this study will be used to guide the development of a training program to improve the cognitive, behavioural and perceptual skills of incident responders operating on high-speed roads. Some insight into the structure and format of this program is provided.

Highlights

Roads with posted speeds of 70km/h or higher introduce a considerable level of risk to workers responding to emergencies in these environments e.g. [1,2,3]
The aim of the study reported in this paper was to explore the behavioural, motivational and work demand factors that influence safety outcomes for incident responders working on high-speed roads
Weak to moderate relationships were found between safety behaviours and safety outcomes of secondary incidents and near misses

Summary

Introduction

Roads with posted speeds of 70km/h or higher introduce a considerable level of risk to workers responding to emergencies in these environments e.g. [1,2,3]. Roads with posted speeds of 70km/h or higher introduce a considerable level of risk to workers responding to emergencies in these environments e.g. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) define the core activities of each responding agency and cover behaviours like dynamic risk assessments and contingency planning see, [1]. These types of behaviours have been referred to as safety compliance in the research literature [14]. Compliance with SOPs is considered as a critical safety behaviour in the context of incident response; it is expected that compliance with SOPs in the context of incident responders operating on high-speed roads facilitates a safe working environment

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Discussion

Conclusion