Are Accidents Really 'Accidents'?
In the Road Risk Group, we’re getting used to the term road traffic collision (RTC). If a road vehicle comes to an abrupt, unplanned stop, it’s probably collided with something. So, what caused it to happen? Who did, or didn’t do, what that increased the likelihood of the incident? The only way to find the real answer is an effective investigation.
Gill Milner, Technical Practice Leader – Casualty at Aviva, has many years’ investigation experience. In podcast episode 43, Road Driving for a Safer Railway—Effective RTC Investigations, she talks with me about how to carry out an effective investigation after a road traffic incident. About when and how to talk to a driver about the incident. Why it’s important not to start with ‘What happened?’
At Aviva, RTCs are defined as ‘a rare, random, multi-factor event always preceded by a situation in which one or more road users have failed to cope with the environment.’ So, a good investigation looks at all the factors that influenced that failure to cope. And that might mean looking as far back as the previous week.
Half of all fatalities
For RSSB, looking into incidents on the road while driving for work was first prompted by a CIRAS report. Looking into the detail, it emerged that half of all our workforce fatalities between 2009 and 2019 were on the road network not the rail network. That was ten lives lost.
And yet, there was little information about the causes of the incidents that led to those deaths. Was that perhaps because incidents on the road aren’t RIDDOR reportable? Given the proportion of deaths, and presumably serious injuries, that happen while driving, or being driven, for work, shouldn’t they be? National Highways estimates the number of RTCs that involve people driving for work to be around 30% of all road fatalities.
Here’s my tenuous argument that they should be. If people aren’t, by law, allowed to smoke in the workplace—and that extends to company vehicles—isn’t a company vehicle part of the workplace, and so covered by RIDDOR?
There’s a movement towards that position, with thinking that work-related RTCs should, at least, be RIDDOR ‘recordable’. So, incidents, and details of the related investigation, would be recorded by employers, as part of their overall duty of care. But that information doesn’t have to be reported to the HSE—until they are ask for it…
How we get better
Simply put, investigate and report. Carry out an effective investigation. Learn what led up to the incident as well as what happened in it. Produce a useful report: one that’s clear about the precursors. ‘Driver error’ helps nobody. Readers should be able to draw a reasonably accurate picture both of the site of the incident, and of potential causal factors. Was the driver fatigued, rushing because of scheduling pressures, distracted by events at home, or just not familiar with the vehicle or route?
These details need to be identified and recorded in a report. That report needs to be analysed for lessons learned. Was there a rostering issue? Was the driver aware of a relevant company policy? Does that policy even exist? Where can employees see that policy. Findings need to be communicated and implemented, so the same thing doesn’t happen again.
That report should also be submitted to the industry’s Safety Management Intelligence System. There it can support our collaborative efforts to reduce road risk for all.
For further information:
Podcast curated series: Road Driving for a Safer Railway
HSE web page: Mobile work equipment
