Driver Assessment

Editor's Notes

• #3: Run through the housekeeping arrangements that you checked in advance.
• #4: Last year there were just under 1800 people killed on our roads with a further 22,000 seriously injured. It is estimated that approximately a 1:5 of these involve someone driving for work. As young drivers you have a greater risk and as such this course is being delivered today to highlight some of the dangers and to provide you with coping strategies which you may wish to consider, thereby making your journeys as safe as is practically possible. Today is: Not a lecture! You are the experts About sharing your experiences And will last for about 2 ½ hours with a 10 minute refreshment break
• #5: The aims of today’s workshop are: To develop awareness about specific driving for work issues To gain insight about what influences your driving at work To develop coping strategies for situations that occur when driving for work To share experiences and learn from each other To help your organisation to understand how well their driving for work policies work in practice
• #6: CONDITIONAL CONFIDENTIALITY – unless we think that someone is in danger in which case we have to inform our managers and they may take the information further. First and foremost is our duty of care. ACTIVE LISTENING – respect for each other’s viewpoints.
• #7: Everyone here is a driver and as such you will have pre existing views on ‘what makes a safer driver’. This will be based on your personal experiences and family and friends attitudes. You will all be able to contribute .... There are no right and wrong answers Ask the group to shout out what they think makes a safe driver. Write their answers on a flipchart/white board
• #8: Ask delegates to count the tea spoons CLICK to show the picture (Give them no more than 10 seconds) Click to show black screen.  
• #9: Now click and ask them the following questions: How many spoons? (There were13) What colour was the tablecloth? How many was the table laid for? Was it tea or coffee? Toast or croissants? Lets have a look Click to show next slide to see if their answers are correct.
• #10: The tablecloth was blue and white The table laid for 2 It was tea They were croissants Lead a brief discussion about the exercise which shows that when you are concentrating on one thing (ie, counting the tea spoons) it’s easy to miss other things. They were not asked to look for the other things hence didn’t focus on them   Ask the delegates to say how this might apply to driving. Example: Not looking for a cyclist at a junction – so your brain can miss it. Hence the expression ‘I look with my eyes but see with my brain’.
• #11: This is a typical view through a vehicle windscreen, when distracted our vision focus in the centre and our peripheral vision is reduced which in this case is where the junction and warning signs are.  
• #12: Increased in cognitive load (e.g. hands free conversation, thinking about work) has been shown to reduce a drivers’ peripheral observation. The affect of this distraction is: Reduces peripheral observation (tend to look straight ahead) – as shown on previous slide Less aware of what’s happening around them Miss hazards React more slowly All of which increases the chances of being in a collision.
• #13: Organise the delegates into discussion groups of 3 or 4, you can change the City and Town to ones of your choice if you wish Give each group a handout with one of the young driver quotes. Ask them to discuss whether or not they agree with the quote.   Ask a representative from each group to report their conclusions and any disagreements within their group to the workshop as a whole. Ask the delegates how they came to their conclusion and to give examples from their own experiences. If there are any differences of opinion, ask the delegates to offer justifications for their opinions.
• #14: THE TEST DOES NOT ADEQUATELY PREPARE YOU FOR DRIVING FOR WORK DUE TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND CONDITIONS.
• #15: Driving is not just about being able to control the vehicle. A drivers attitude and personality will also affect how the vehicle is driven. Safe driving is about being observant and prepared (stopping distance, speed, seatbelt, both hands at wheel....) for the ‘anything’ that might happen. The ‘anything’ can therefore be prepared for and thus you take the ‘pot-chance’ out of driving.
• #16: Write answers on the flip chart In the same or different small groups ask the delegates to draw up a list of differences between driving for work and driving for their own reasons. Ask one person from each group to report their conclusions and any disagreements with the statement displayed on the slide. Write their responses on the flipchart. Choose each item from the below driving for work list and ask whether it makes driving riskier and if so how. Driving for work Driving for own reasons Defined schedule Decide own schedule Time pressures/deadlines Set own deadlines Long journeys Mostly shorter journeys Distractions Similar, but less pressure to respond to calls Unfamiliar area Mostly familiar area Unfamiliar vehicle Know the vehicle Get the job done Less pressure
• #17: Ask delegates to stay in their groups, and give each group a copy of one of the scenarios. Ask them to discuss their scenario in their group, and identify the factors that caused the accident. After 10 minutes stop the exercise and ask the groups to report back on the factors they think caused the crash. Write the answers in two columns on a flip chart (Immediate and underlying – but don’t put a title yet) Ask them which were immediate causation factors and which were underlying, and what could have been done immediately before and the day before, to prevent the crash. Then add the title for each list.  
• #18: These are some other immediate factors which cause accidents at work
• #19: And these are some underlying generic factors which cause accidents at work. Ask them what could have been done to avoid the crash in each scenario. Conclude by discussing how decisions made in advance can prevent crashes (eg, better journey planning reduces the risk of speeding to make up time and despite our best intentions, we make decisions that make safer driving more difficult and so lead to risky behaviours. As the scenarios showed you can have ‘conflicting goals (eg, rushing to reach a destination in time often conflicts with the goal of getting their safely). You can also have prioritising goals which conflict with safer driving and lead to risky behaviour. Good planning and preparation can reduce or eliminate some of the risk factors and resolve the potential for conflicting goals.
• #20: Divide the delegates into pairs (‘buzz groups’) to talk about how they arrived at the venue and how they planned the journey. This should be a quick exchange of about a minute, and does not need to be reported back to the larger group.
• #21: In the same buzz groups, ask them to discuss a personal example of a journey that went wrong, and what they could have done differently. Ask each pair to report to the whole group.
• #22: Present the example journey schedule. Ask delegates to spend five minutes thinking about how they would plan the journey. Get them to call out responses and write them on a flipchart. You can change the cities to ones of your choice if you wish, but keep the schedule just about achievable if everything works well. How would poor weather affect your planning? What stops us from following these plans in reality? How can we overcome these barriers? What priority do we give to driving? Just a way to get from a to b? Pass round copies of the RoSPA Safer Journey Planner. Ask whether they adopt these tactics when planning journeys and how they think they help to reduce crash risk. Ask delegates to identify anything that stops them adopting any of these tactics, and discuss solutions. Show the employer’s journey planning policy. Ask delegates to give examples of having used it successfully or when they experienced problems on a journey that could have been better planned.
• #23: For the rest of today we will be talking about journey planning, driving different vehicles, vehicle checks and different scenarios that can occur when driving for work.
• #24: Ask delegates to call out things which might distract a driver. Write the responses on the flipchart.   Ask delegates to say how each thing might affect someone’s driving. Ask them to share with the person next to them an example of a time when something has distracted their driving
• #25: Give each pair a copy of the press reports of a crash caused by a driver using a mobile phone. Ask them to discuss why the driver used his phone, the resulting consequences to all concerned and what could have been done to prevent this. Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving. Stress that a distracted driver:   Is much less aware of what’s happening on the road around them fail to see road signs fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed are more likely to ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front react more slowly and take longer to brake are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic feel more stressed and frustrated.   Research shows that this means that they are much more likely to crash.
• #26: Show the employer’s policy on using mobile phone while driving. Ask delegates whether they follow the policy or to give examples of times they found it difficult to do so, and why. If the company does not have a policy you can use the one found in RoSPA Driving for Work: Mobile Phone guide.
• #27: Divide the delegates into pairs and ask them to discuss their experiences of driving a new vehicle for the first time. Ask each pair to share their experiences with the whole workshop. Ask what they could do to familiarise themselves with a new vehicle before driving off in it. If they don’t do these things, ask what stops them.
• #28: Vehicle Checks Ask them to say why they think vehicle checks are necessary, what things they check on their vehicle and what things are the most important to check. Why are these things the most important?   Ask if there is anything that stops them doing these checks as often as they should. Following the discussion, show slides of common vehicle checks (Make sure that they remember head restraints as correctly adjusted they help prevent whip lash)
• #29: Add a slide showing the organisation’s vehicle check policy. Give delegates copy of the vehicle checklist Stress that if they are faced with the situation of driving a new vehicle and they feel unsure of the controls or how to safely drive/manoeuvre the vehicle ask a manager to arrange some familiarisation training or a colleague who knows the vehicle to go through it, look through the vehicle handbook, do a pre-drive safety check.
• #30: With this scenario some delegates may say that Jenny should take the van out because otherwise she might lose her job, and in any case now that she’s reported the fault, it’s not her responsibility. Other’s may say that she must refuse to take the van out because it’s not in a legal or safe condition and she would be the one who got a fine and penalty points on her licence, and she’d be the one at risk of a crash.   Guide the discussion to the conclusion that Jenny must not take the van out. If the line manager insists she does, Jenny could show him the tyres, point out the risk to her and the legal liability for the company, point out the company’s policy on safe vehicles, seek help from another manager or a more experienced colleague, take photos of the tyres for evidence.  
• #31: Explain that the most important thing to check on any vehicle is the tyres. Modern cars rarely have a mechanical failure which will immediately render it unsafe. However, a tyre which is damaged, is correctly inflated or has insufficient tread is likely to adversely affect the vehicles handing and ability to stop and manoeuvre around bends. It may also result in a high speed blow out which can result in loss of control.
• #32: Tyres can wear unevenly as shown in this picture. When checking the tread turn the wheels so you can see the inside of the tyre.
• #33: Tyre or wheel faults are rarely as obvious as this example. However, ask them what they would do once they have identified a fault?
• #34: Ask the delegates to spend a few minutes writing down some things that they would put in a driving for work policy if they were responsible for producing it. This can be either a group or individual task.   Stress that the policy should include things which they think would help them, based on their knowledge and experience. Q&A exercise - write down their answers on the flip chart. These can be written down and forwarded to them after the session.   Ask the delegates to write down how they would make sure drivers followed the policy and write these on the flip chart.
• #35: Insert slides on the topic chosen by the employer or use the slides for ‘vans’ or ‘speeding’ if the employer has not chosen a topic. Delete the slides for the topic not being used.
• #36: Use this slide or the next two on speed if the employer has not chosen a topic. Delete the slides not being used. Typical differences include weight, cornering, going round roundabouts, visibility, longer and wider, no rear window/rear mirror, larger blind zone, maximum axle weight, tyre pressures
• #37: Use the two slides on Speed (or the slide on vans) if the employer has not chosen a topic. Delete the slides not being used. Eg. When driving down hill, When driving down hill, when distracted, When driving down hill, when distracted, when unfamiliar with the vehicle. Conclude the exercise by asking them what they can do to avoid creeping over the speed limit? Then show next slide.
• #38: List of useful tips – how many did the delegates come up with? Did they have any others?
• #39: Reviewing behaviour. Knowing what to do and actually doing it can be very different. The next set of slides reviews their possible behaviour Ask the delegates to discuss with a partner what they would do in that situation. If a delegate concludes that there are reasons why they cannot do the right thing, ask the rest of the group to suggest ways of overcoming them, or to present a different perspective on the situation.   Try to guide the delegates towards the conclusion that their employer can help.
• #40: WHAT WOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO? WHAT COULD YOU DO?
• #41: WHAT WOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO? WHAT COULD YOU DO?
• #42: WHAT WOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO? WHAT COULD YOU DO?
• #43: Repeat of the first exercise. Compare them with the list from the start of the workshop. Briefly discuss key differences?
• #44: Once they have individually written one thing down that they have learned from today’s workshop and one thing they will do to improve their safety, go around the room asking them for feedback.
• #45: Read the points on the slide