The Monash University Accident Research Centre and Vero Insurance have partnered for a new study investigating the prevalence of work-related traffic injuries, and how they are impacted by workplace practices and cultures.
The research will identify which workplace behaviours are most effective in promoting a culture of safe driving and preventing road traffic injuries – the leading cause of work-related deaths in Australia.
From the results, the researchers aim to provide insights into potential improvements to the various risk management, and health and safety procedures in place across Australia.
“Approximately 27 per cent of work-related vehicles are involved in crashes each year. This equates to around 1.4 million work-related vehicles involved in crashes every year, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data,” said Darren O’Connell, Executive General Manager of Commercial Portfolio and Underwriting Management at Suncorp Commercial Insurance.
“Road traffic injuries can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. These incidents can take a huge personal toll on the individuals involved, their families and their co-workers within the organisation,” he said.
“There can also be very significant flow-on effects to an organisation’s revenue. They can lead to lost productivity, compensation claims and higher insurance premiums.”
Dr Sharon Newnam, the research project’s Chief Investigator at the Monash University Accident Research Centre, said many managers are unaware of the factors within their organisations that can lead to reductions in work-related road traffic injury and deaths.
“This study will not only identify the individual-driver, supervisor and organisational-level factors associated with work-related road traffic injury,” she said.
“It will also establish, for the first time, an occupational translation taskforce to ensure the research findings are adopted into workplace practice and, thereby, directly contribute to reductions in work-related road traffic injury.”
The occupational translation taskforce will be charged with translating the research findings into practices and outcomes that can be adopted by organisations and regulators. The taskforce will comprise representatives from the insurance industry, government departments, and two vehicle fleet operators.
Over the next three years, Monash University will examine 300 organisations in Victoria and NSW that have some form of work-related vehicle use, from those with only occasional vehicle use to those that operate large commercial fleet.
The researchers will interview and survey a sample of some 1200 senior managers, fleet supervisors and vehicle drivers from the organisations to gain insights into what is working and what is not.
The participating organisations will be given access to the research’s early findings, which they can then implement into their risk management plans.