Work-related road safety: Case study of British Telecommunications (BT)

Abstract

Safety is a key issue for transport policy globally. Work-related travel has a significant impact on both road and occupational safety. Implementing a long term, sustainable work-related road safety program is a complex process requiring careful management decision making. Despite an increasing interest in research, policy and practice, there remain few published studies of organisations that have effectively managed their travel risks. The aim of this paper is to review and evaluate the outcomes of a driver risk assessment, monitoring and improvement program undertaken by British Telecommunications throughout its UK operations. The material presented is based on a detailed case study of the policies, procedures and performance monitoring implemented to manage the road safety risks of approximately 95,000 workers over more than 10 years. From a review of processes and outcomes, a good practice data-led systems-based approach is identified, focusing on occupational health and safety principles, the Haddon Matrix, risk assessment and evaluation. The case, which has seen a halving of the company׳s collision rate and costs, provides access to large insurance claims and other data sets over a long term period. A number of potential lessons for researchers, policy makers and practitioners are identified relating to issues such as data, management, tools, frameworks and further opportunities to focus on improving both road and worker safety.