On Fri 20 Nov 2020, we held the CLOCS Safety Forum Pilot. With over 50 CLOCS Champions in attendance, the series got off to a great start with many positive discussions.
The Forum is a chance for our Champions to learn from each other how to better investigate the reasons for collisions and how to capture and share the learnings to prevent incidents in the future. Members will have an opportunity to identify and discuss what matters to them most. ‘Speed’ was chosen as the theme for the Pilot in support of Brake’s Road Safety Week.
The 60-minute Pilot event included structured discussions/presentations & open discussions in breakout rooms with a goal of producing key learnings. Our speakers included Richard Burnham, SHEQ Manager, Readypower Terrawise & Carl Milton, Regional Supply Chain and Logistics Manager, CEMEX. See review below.
Richard Burnham started off with an overview of key causes of collisions. Inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in road incidents: 11% of all injury collisions reported to the police, 15% of crashes resulting in a serious injury & 24% of collisions resulting in death. UK road policing often involves the fatal 4 (or variations of this):
- Inappropriate speed
- Failure to wear seatbelts
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Distraction – the driver using a handheld mobile phone for example
Importantly, these are behaviours we as individuals and companies can help mitigate or eliminate. And unfortunately, most drivers speed inappropriately at times so the risk is significant for all road users – particularly those walking, cycling, horseriding and motorcycling.
- 81% of car drivers exceed the speed limit and 44% exceed 25mph
- 53% of car drivers exceed 30 mph and 19% exceed 35 mph
- 8% of drivers speed but only 3% go over 70mph
- Motorways almost half (46%) of car drivers exceed the speed limit, with 11% going faster than 80 mph
Carl Milton then discussed the importance and usefulness of CCTV for HGVs – highlighting how it offers effective and valued protection for the drivers when investigating incidents. And importantly, it offers a chance to prevent more incidents from occurring by using the footage as training and learning tools for teams.
As discussed throughout the event, driving at appropriate speeds for prevailing conditions has many benefits for all road users that go beyond better business practices, like how local communities feel safer and less disturbed. So it’s important to ask – what support is offered to drivers servicing your projects to help them drive at appropriate speeds?
As CLOCS grows, it’s critical to work together. By learning to prevent, we are collectively reducing the financial costs and most importantly – the human costs.
