Accidents and the Experienced Driver By Carmen Daecher

Fixed object accidents, a persistent reality in your operations. Fortunately, most of these are minor events. However, occasionally, serious accidents do occur.

Our experience in analyzing these accidents, conclusively tells us that most of them occur with an experienced driver at the wheel. For our purposes, an experienced driver is one who has six or more continuous months of bus driving experience. Even more alarming, experienced drivers are more significantly represented in serious accidents than are new or inexperienced drivers.

Why? And even more importantly, how do we stop it?

We talk about complacency. We know it's not a question of ability to operate the vehicle. What we must really understand is that the experienced driver, thanks to becoming familiar with his/her routine, has started to become blind to the risks that he/she faces because of the repetition of their driving tasks without incident.

Another way to describe this behavior is to consider what many people do on the roadways today. Traveling at 5 to 10 miles per hour above the speed limit is "normal". The risk of speeding is just not apparent to this person. If the person receives a ticket, their behavior is altered immediately and for some period of time until they again do not recognize the risk.

People begin to "own" risk when they have something at stake. Continuing with the example, if a person has received a sufficient number of speeding tickets to realize that the next one may cause a suspension of his/her license, the risk of speeding will be considered regularly as he/she drives.

The introduction of safety technologies, by themselves, is not the answer. A study in Germany showed that drivers with new ABS systems were involved in more accidents than those without them. These drivers began to behave less prudently than they did before because they thought that the safety technology could offset more risky behavior. This is not to say that backing technologies, mirror technologies, and other safety technologies are not useful; rather, it tells us that human beings have a tendency to think that these technologies can offset unacceptable behavior.

The industry has contributed to this accident frequency problem as well. No matter for what reasons, the industry has viewed a minor accident as more of a nuisance than an event which requires corrective action. "Minor" accidents result in counseling or verbal warning; but "major" accidents result in organization-wide response and swift, negative consequences to the driver. As a human being, the message I receive from that type of organizational behavior is that risk taking is acceptable if it results in minor accidents.

The problem is that we cannot control the outcome of accidents. Therefore, to advocate or tacitly accept risk taking, no matter the reason, is not acceptable.

So, how do we get rid of these nagging, fixed object accidents? And how do we keep a lid on more serious accidents? We must keep drivers aware of and have them "own" consequences to the risks that they face while performing their driving duties. We must help the driver have the right mental approach to recognizing and managing risk when they drive rather than taking risk when they drive.

It is also important that we make our drivers risk-responsible by owning risks that they take. The easiest way to understand this is to consider how one may treat a rental car as opposed to their own car. Ownership has a unique way of instilling responsibility.

So, how do you do this? Here are a few thoughts:

• Be consistent and relatively tough on any unacceptable behaviors. A minor fixed object accident, if it is preventable, exhibits behaviors that are just as serious as an accident producing injuries. Receiving a speeding ticket indicates risk taking behaviors which are the same as those which produce accidents. Following too closely and other unacceptable behaviors are just as dangerous from a risk taking point of view whether an accident occurs or not. Therefore, a disciplinary system that is progressive and does not tolerate unacceptable behavior is a key foundation to having drivers recognize and accept risk associated with their jobs.
• At safety meetings, refresher training sessions, and remedial training sessions, risk should be more directly discussed. We talk about specific driving skills that need to be improved and how to do it. But we do not talk about risk in a way that can influence how a person thinks. As an example of this, using a dollars and cents approach to what a fixed object minor damage accident costs and how it effects business operation should be known by drivers. Multiply that one example by the number of fixed object accidents you have been experiencing, and the dollar value becomes large quickly. For most people, understanding the disruption a minor accident causes, and appreciating the economic consequences has a perceptible impact on their thinking.
• Frequent messages to drivers, not only reminding them of conditions they might face, but reminding them that other people want to go home without any disruption to their lives, appeals to their sense of responsibility. Help drivers understand the impact they can have on other people's lives by being involved in an accident, no matter how minor, or by behaving unacceptably.
• Have drivers buy some of the risk they took if an accident occurs. Establish policies that require drivers to contribute to the repair of any property damaged as a result of their actions.

From where I'm sitting, the industry has not kept the negative consequences of risk taking in front of experienced drivers, even though it is a natural human tendency to become "blind" to the risks we take. Help them keep their eyes open to recognizing and being responsible for risks which they will face every day while driving. It will be to their benefit and yours.

*** Click here to visit the DDC USA Fleet training web site ***