We look at how new digital technologies can help to improve driver safety and reduce accidents, with practical considerations for IOSH professionals.
Driving is one of the highest-risk tasks in any organisation. According to the GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE), more than 5000 incidents involving transport in the workplace occur in Great Britain every year. About 50 of these result in fatalities. Estimates suggest that up to one-third of all road traffic accidents involve someone who is at work at the time (HSE, 2022a).
However, digital technology offers possible solutions to drastically reduce human error and accidents by using vehicle safety monitoring technologies. Vehicle telematics combines hardware installed in a vehicle and wireless data transmission that collects information on how safely someone is driving. These various systems record longitudinal and lateral movements and location, using global positioning systems data to monitor speeding violations, for example.
New EU vehicle-type approval regulations are coming into force that will mandate a range of safety devices on most new vehicles sold from 2024. This includes intelligent speed assistance (ISA) options, lane departure warning system, driver drowsiness/attention warning and advanced emergency braking (AEB). And beyond reducing accidents, these tech solutions can cut costs and increase fuel efficiency too (drivetech, 2020). Although not legislation in the UK, the rules are likely, but are not confirmed, to filter down, says drivetech head of marketing Colin Paterson.
Safety drive
Large fleets are buying in. Leading UK public transport provider Stagecoach has fitted its 4000-strong fleet of double-decker buses with low bridge detection functionality. It was already using an LED system, akin to traffic lights, on the dashboard to give feedback on manoeuvres (Stagecoach, 2022). The new system will reportedly use GPS data and mapping services to sense whether a bus is headed for a collision or low-bridge route. If so, it will produce an alert to encourage the driver to take a different route.
In June, Amazon announced its new on-road map and route tech, Fleet Edge, which aims to increase driver safety by automatically detecting changes on the route, including new roads, closures and traffic signs. The aim is to avoid risky manoeuvres, hazards and lower the need for U-turns. The system combines artificial intelligence and machine learning to update maps (Amazon, 2022).
‘Big fleets are rolling out telematics all the time very successfully and seeing dramatic reductions in incidents,’ says Dr Lisa Dorn, associate professor of driver behaviour at Cranfield University.
Best behaviour
Promoting safe driving with the carrot rather than the stick is a powerful approach. For example, alongside monitoring data, fleet management solution app Lightfoot gives a score and creates leaderboards which allows drivers to compare themselves with friends. The company claims to reduce accidents by up to 40% (Lightfoot, 2021).
Observing drivers means they’re more likely to be on their best behaviour as they are aware of being monitored. ‘For a number of psychological and performance reasons, it’s a great tool,’ Lisa says. ‘You can give feedback to the individual about their performance and identify areas where they could improve.’
However, with in-car technology increasingly screen-based, there is a need to minimise distraction. Lisa says: ‘The best telematics providers only give feedback after a journey, not in motion.’ And feedback is fundamental to changing driver behaviour and avoiding over-reliance on gadgets or lowered engagement with the task of driving.
GPS will sense whether a bus is headed for a collision. If so, an alert will encourage the driver to take a different route
Collaboration is key
For organisations, implementation of new tech ought to be a collaborative effort across fleet managers, OSH professionals, IT and those behind the wheel.
‘What’s required is that somebody in a dedicated resource is having consistent conversations with drivers to make sure they get the feedback. Don’t just assume this is going to make your job easier, that you don’t need to engage with them because it’s all automated,’ says Lisa.
In-vehicle tech employed in isolation is no silver bullet. It is most effective in conjunction with education, training, concerted feedback and collaboration.
While telematics can provide data important for business such as fuel consumption, OSH professionals should also ensure any new system includes an adequate focus on safety measures, such as data on excessive speed or erratic driving.
There is an additional need to ensure telematics providers can substantiate marketing promises. ‘Ask them for evidence that their measures of risk actually predict crash involvement,’ Lisa adds.
In its 2020 report, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory found that ‘telematics systems, drowsiness and distraction recognition systems, and collision warning systems have significant potential safety benefits, but rigorous published evaluation of safety-focused telematics in the fleet context is limited’ (Pyta et al, 2020).
Lisa observes that although some telematic systems have not yet been the subject of thorough testing, ‘some automated functions are well regarded in terms of safety. AEB is one of them, seeming to reduce rear-end collisions.’
Drivetech: FleetRiskManager
Drivetech is a provider of driver training, fleet consultancy and training services in more than 95 countries.
FleetRiskManager (FRM), a web-based portal that enables organisations to manage their driving community via dashboards and reports, as well as vehicle, driver data and licence checking (drivetech, 2022), is one of drivetech’s flagship offerings. Many thousands of organisations in the UK use FRM, and the business also supports numerous global fleets in its risk management programmes.
OSH professionals should be involved from the start, Colin Paterson (pictured), Drivetech head of marketing, says. ‘You get people involved who actually have an appreciation of duty of care, and health and safety legislation. Otherwise, it can become a tick-box exercise.
‘Our role at drivetech is first and foremost about the human – and his or her behaviour, attitude and competence, not the inherent nature of the vehicle they’re driving.’
OSH professionals should note the legal mandatory requirement in the UK and EU to protect anyone driving on business, whether it’s a company vehicle or not (HSE, 2022b; EU-OSHA, 2021). The company also offers a range of – typically online – driver training courses, with offerings for car, van, truck, buses and coaches. Based on an initial driver risk assessment, there is a suite of 24 major online e-learning modules available, from basic vehicle checks to online driving behaviour. ‘It’s a good way of segmenting your drivers quickly and efficiently online, and determining who requires more serious intervention,’ Colin says.
‘If you have a fluid workforce, it’s less easy to execute and enforce, but still critical and even more valuable. For the cost of doing this, you’re protecting your livelihood, your reputation and you're hopefully saving lives.’
Small cost, big rewards
For Neil Greig, policy and research director of road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, such tech is important for reducing road deaths. The number of deaths on the road in Great Britain hung steadily at around 1750 between 2013 and 2019 (Department for Transport, 2019).
‘All this technology that’s been fitted to new vehicles can’t solve all the problems on its own,’ Neil says. ‘But if it reaches its full potential, that would be a big push to get back on a downward trend again.’
The consequences of ignoring new advances that will enhance safety for organisations that rely on drivers could be significant. ‘You will find that you have more incidents, your vehicle wear and tear, fuel costs and downtime when your drivers are banned will all go up,’ says Neil.
A small outlay could lead to a big reward in efficiency and safety. ‘Don’t be afraid of technology: it’s there to help you,’ he says. ‘If you get the best new vans and cars for your fleet and encourage your drivers to use them, then you will see the benefits.’
References:
Amazon. (2022) Amazon's new on-road technology improves safety for drivers. (accessed 7 September 2022).
Department for Transport. (2022) Reported road casualties Great Britain, provisional results: 2021. (accessed 7 September 2022).
Drivetech. (2022) FleetRiskManager (FRM). (accessed 7 September 2022).
EU-OSHA. (2021) The OSH framework directive. (accessed15 September 2022).
HSE. (2022a) Getting started. (accessed 7 September 2022).
HSE. (2022b) Employers responsibilities. (accessed 2 September 2022).
Lightfoot. (2021) Driver engagement. (accessed 2 September 2022).
Pyta V, Gupta B, Stuttard N et al. (2020) Assisting the update of INDG382: Vehicle technologies. TRL. (accessed 7 September 2022).
Stagecoach. (2022) Stagecoach becomes first UK bus operator to complete a national roll-out of new bridge alert technology. (accessed 7 September 2022).
TTC Group. (2022) Driver training is crucial during logistics boom. (accessed 7 September 2022).
