In conjunction with the Australasian Fleet Managers Association (AfMA) and funded by a WorkCover NSW Assist Applied Research Grant, researchers at TARS developed and trialled the useability of a fleet safety management audit tool for light vehicle fleets (i.e. vehicles, such as cars and vans less than 4.5 tonnes). In NSW, around 16% of all vehicle fatalities each year and around 10% of injury hospitalisations following a vehicle crash are thought to be work-related. There are around 800,000 fleet vehicles in NSW and it has been estimated that 20-30% of them crash each year, with drivers of company vehicles experiencing 50% more crashes than private vehicle drivers.

The fleet safety management audit tool was developed by triangulating information from the published literature on fleet safety management practices, conducting semi-structured interviews with fleet managers and fleet drivers regarding fleet safety management practices, and useability testing.
The audit tool assesses the management of fleet safety against five core categories that were identified from the literature and interviews as being associated with fleet safety. These include: (1) management, systems and processes; (2) monitoring and assessment; (3) employee recruitment, training and education; (4) vehicle technology, selection and maintenance; and (5) vehicle journeys.

The fleet safety audit tool is designed to identify the extent to which fleet safety is managed in an organisation. The audit tool can be used to conduct audits within an organisation to provide an indicator of progress in managing fleet safety and it can be used to benchmark performance with other organisations.
The final report is available here.

A couple of the tool is also available:
Mitchell R. Friswell R. Mooren L. (2012) Initial development of a practical safety audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices. Accident Analysis and Prevention 47, 102-118.

For further information contact: Dr Rebecca Mitchell