Occupational health and safety laws means employers have clear responsibilities for maximising the on-road safety of staff. Likewise, employees must uphold their side of the bargain, reports Rosemary Ann Ogilvie.
The key thing in looking at occupational health and safety (OH&S) in any work environment is to keep in mind what is essentially OH&S 101. Under Australian law, employers have an obligation, or duty of care, to provide and maintain a safe workplace, and a safe system of work, ensuring risks to employees are assessed and properly managed. On the other side of the coin, employees have an obligation to perform work safely – including driving – and comply with the employer’s directions and instructions.
Over the years, the definition of a workplace has expanded: today it is any place where people work, whether buildings, offices, factories, forests, farms, aircraft, ships and vehicles, and also public roads and private property. Consequently, all vehicles supplied by the employer for workers to use in carrying out their jobs are considered a workplace – and this includes novated vehicles.
So the employer is obliged to provide and maintain safe vehicles, and ensure employees are competent to operate them in a range of environments. If distance driving is involved, the employer must assess the route for risks, which may include unsealed roads and points where there are significant hazards. The driving plan associated with the route may identify safe, secure places where the driver can stop for a decent meal, and specify how often rest breaks are to be taken.
Such route planning is a valid component of the employer’s systems: a lack of systems, or systems failure, is often identified as a contributing factor to accidents in the workplace. Therefore a fleet safety policy (see page 25) is critical: without documented systems, says Geoff Thomas, managing director, Murcotts Driving Excellence Pty Ltd, it will be difficult for an employer to prove to a court they had an intention to keep people safe.
Employer Responsibility
While OH&S legislation is the most important legal environment relating to drivers in the workplace, the drivers also need to be compliant with other laws such as the Road Traffic Act and regulations.
“An important aspect of driving is the principle of strict-liability offences, notably drink driving, speeding, and not wearing a seatbelt,” says Thomas. “Strict liability offences differ from others where to be guilty, there must be an intention to commit the prohibited offence. With strict liability, all that has to be established is that the person committed the offence. So if accurate equipment detects you speeding, you’re guilty of the offence, and there’s little room for defence.”
However, when drivers operate a vehicle in the context of their employment – and this includes travelling to and from work, that employment may be a contributing factor to the way they drive. “The strict-liability notion can be complicated by motivating forces caused by work,” Thomas explains. “A sales rep may feel compelled to do a certain number of calls each day. With people working in community services or home-visit nursing, professional motivation to meet call schedules and attend to clients can interfere with one’s mindset around safe driving.”
So where the employment influences unsafe driving, the employer can be implicated. “While this doesn’t remove the strict liability, and the offence will most likely be prosecuted, where it comes into play is if a crash occurs and it’s stated in court that the employer placed demands on the employee that overrode their safe-driving behaviour,” says Thomas.
“So we argue that employers must accept a responsibility for the way their employees drive, just as they accept responsibility for how employees operate plant on the factory floor.”
Realistic Time Frames
Chain of responsibility legislation in the heavy-transport sector now prevents employers setting unrealistic schedules. While the laws apply only to vehicles that exceed 4.5 tonnes – except in WA, where they will apply to all vehicles, regardless of size – employers need to take the principles on board and ensure they allow all drivers realistic time frames, says Nigel Malcolm, managing director, Fleetcare. “Do your reps have a reasonable amount of time to go through the sales process, write it up, get to the next location? Or are you making them do the job on the run?”
Employees may not be driving for long periods of time, but they may go from one meeting or job to another, and this should be factored into their fatigue time.
A big risk also lies in the way people too often treat driving as catch-up time. The employer may no longer be putting employees under driving pressure, but the employees revert to old habits when they find themselves running behind schedule.
Education and Compliance
Employers are obliged under OH&S acts to adequately instruct, train and supervise employees so they can work safely. “The guidelines provided by WorkSafe Australia about education and training say there needs to be practical training – experiential learning,” says Geoff Thomas.
So it’s not enough just to give a pep talk and distribute some literature about safe driving, or hand over the keys of a new car and expect the driver to learn about it by reading the handbook.
“Employers need to provide proper instruction on how to operate the vehicles,” says John Winterburn, Group Health, Safety and Environment Manager, RAC Western Australia. “They also need to conduct periodic audits to ensure drivers are compliant.”
Advanced Training
As to the issue of advanced driver training, most drivers can benefit from attending a course. Winterburn comments that it’s a positive step, for apart from the technical skills drivers acquire, it helps with engagement, and conveys a powerful message to the employee that their employer cares about them.
Still, there can be resistance to the idea, particularly from those drivers who consider themselves safe drivers because they’ve never had an accident – something that’s often nothing more than pure luck.
“We all make mistakes or break laws when we’re driving, but in most instances it doesn’t coincide with other factors that contribute to a crash,” adds Geoff Thomas. “So we build evidence in our minds that we’re safe drivers. It’s a powerful psychological component – and a problem for the employer when they’re trying to change embedded behaviour to create a safe driving environment.”
Nigel Malcolm’s concern is that, too often, driver training is a knee-jerk reaction following an incident rather than part of a planned long-term strategy to ensure driver safety, which is the only way to approach this issue.
Fatigue vs Drowsiness
The fatigue-management laws governing heavy vehicles currently don’t apply to passenger vehicles, although this may change as tracking systems become more mainstream. So again, the employer bears the responsibility of training drivers in fatigue management for their safety.
“The word ‘fatigue’ tends to be used very loosely,” says Thomas. “There’s a strong argument that fatigue applies to the physical tiredness of the body, whereas drowsiness applies to the desire to want to go to sleep. When we find our eyes are closing, and we get into the mode road-safety bodies call ‘zoning out’, that’s drowsiness. A person who has been working hard on the job all day may be physically tired, but this may not affect their driving. However, if someone hasn’t had enough sleep, they become drowsy – and drowsiness
is the killer.”
Murcotts has taken their advice from Dr Murray Johns, Optalert’s chief scientist, who created a device called Optalert, which contains sensors that measure eyelid movement and the speed of blinks. It’s connected to a box that emits an alarm warning the driver of increased sleepiness before they’re even aware of it. Some trucking companies are now trialling the glasses.
“Dr Johns has certainly convinced us of the importance of distinguishing between fatigue and drowsiness,” says Thomas. “Employers need to provide education, information and training around the two terms. And that education needs to be backed up with specific instructions for rest breaks in distance-driving situations.”
Dr Johns himself defines drowsiness as the intermediate state between alert wakefulness and sleep. Drowsiness intermittently causes lack of awareness of the here-and-now; that is why it is so dangerous for drivers.
By contrast Dr Johns defines fatigue as a behavioural state associated with feelings of weariness and discomfort, muscle aches, and a disinclination to continue the task at hand. Fatigue gets progressively worse with the duration and intensity of the task. You don’t have to be fatigued to become drowsy, but you can be both fatigued and drowsy at the same time. Fatigue doesn’t fluctuate rapidly, over periods of a few seconds, as drowsiness does. Rest and inactivity relieves fatigue, but this makes drowsiness worse.
Select for Safety
Because vehicle selection comes back to the employer’s duty of care to ensure employees are not exposed to hazards, fleet managers need to risk-assess vehicles to make sure they’re fit for the job. “And part of this is consulting with the people who are doing the job,” says Winterburn. “This is a key area of the OH&S legislation.”
An excellent starting point, of course, is the ANCAP safety ratings. “We look at the highest-rated vehicle and see if it’s fit for purpose,” says RACWA’s John Winterburn. “If it doesn’t do what we need it to, we follow it down the line until we find the right vehicle for our needs with the highest rating.”
A vehicle should also suit their physical needs, so drivers are genuinely comfortable, because when someone is given a company car and it doesn’t fit them, it can snowball into other problems further down the road.
Employee involvement is particularly important with vehicles used for regular long-distance driving, as some cars are better designed for this purpose than others. A car one person finds very comfortable can be torture for someone else.
Overlooked Ergonomics
Despite being a key component of OH&S, ergonomics in vehicles is often overlooked – especially with the push to more environmentally friendly cars, which are often smaller. “It’s an important safety issue,” says Thomas. “If the employer sends four adults across the state for a conference or meeting in a small, albeit very fuel-efficient vehicle, they may actually breach the OHS Act.”
Winterburn adds that you can’t put a very tall person in a small car, even one with plenty of legroom. “If you have a tall sales rep transferring from a vehicle many times a day, you really have to look at the ergonomic set up.”
And it’s not just about tall people and small vehicles, Winterburn adds. If a person of any height has to bend their head and neck 20 times a day getting in and out of a vehicle, repetitive-strain type injuries can occur.
Good lumbar support in a vehicle seat is essential to ensure the driver maintains the S-curve in the back when seated. Again, this is an individual thing, related to the driver’s build.
“It’s very difficult for an employer, because even when a condition is degeneration related to the ageing process, it’s always categorised as a work-related injury. So you really have to look after your workforce,” says Winterburn. He recommends seeking the assistance of a specialist, such an occupational therapist or physiotherapist, when choosing a vehicle to help prevent costly mistakes.
It’s also essential to check out adjustment of the seats, seatbelts, steering column (both telescopic and rake), mirrors and pedals as part of an ergonomic assessment. “If the vehicle lacks full adjustment of these, chances are it’s not a safe vehicle because it won’t fit everyone who may drive it,” says Thomas. “This in turn may compromise their ability to control it.”
Stewart stresses the importance of making sure the driver goes through a familiarisation process when they take delivery of the car so they are aware of all the adjustments.
The fleet manager also needs to ensure drivers know the right way of getting into a vehicle: putting your rear end in the seat first and then twisting your legs into the car. “The employer also needs to provide a channel for reporting problems,” adds Winterburn. “So if an employee gets a slight niggle – a sore back or sore wrist – they can advise the employer – and the employer needs to take action.”
Safety Technology
Key safety features such as airbags, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) are progressively becoming standard on the more mainstream vehicles.
From November 2011, ESC will be mandatory under Australian Design Rules for all new passenger cars sold here, and all new vehicles will be required to have it as standard from November 2013. This brings Australia into line with international standards.
We can expect newer technology such as head-up windscreen displays and radar crash avoidance to filter down from high-end vehicles fairly quickly, something that will help improve safety standards generally.
“We really support all the new safety features that don’t distract the driver,” says Malcolm.
“This equipment adds another layer to the skills and techniques learned through professional driving courses.”
One safety feature with a high distraction potential is the in-car navigation system. As these units offer numerous benefits – including increased driver safety when used properly – it’s important to make drivers aware of the associated risks, such as looking at the screen more than they should when the unit is first installed, which takes their attention away from the road.
Drivers should learn to rely on voice directions with only the occasional glance at the screen, and it should be programmed before starting a journey, never while moving.
A final word on the subject of safety features: research shows there can be an associated risk-compensation component where the driver believes they’re safer because of the vehicle, and so takes higher risks.
“The research is valid,” says Murcotts’ Geoff Thomas. “However, it’s quite controversial psychology that suggests every time a person is faced with a safe environment, they’ll take more risk. There’s an argument that those who are prepared to take higher risks will also take them out on the public roads.”
