Synopsis:
When Churches of Christ in Queensland decided to extend its external focus on caring for some of the most vulnerable in our community to include an internal focus on caring for its drivers and improving road safety, it decided on a staged approach that began with the ‘low hanging fruit’ and will build a strong culture over time.
Key Outcomes:
- Improving road safety can be a staged approach, beginning with easy wins and building a road safety culture over time, rather than introducing a raft of measures all at once
- Statistics and research are a powerful way to demonstrate the need for change and highlight areas for improvement
- Using this information to educate drivers on how to improve driving performance, rather than punishing them for poor performance, increases buy-in and practical improvements
- Improving safety reduces crashes and serious injuries while minimising an organisation’s environmental footprint, and linking safety with sustainability can strengthen the business case to invest in both
- Partnering with an insurer passionate about improving road safety performance is an effective way to collect information, particularly crash rates
- Senior management buy-in is crucial to support and demonstrates the importance of improving an organisation’s road safety culture
- Combining high-level support with engagement from on-the-ground managers in delivering road safety messages and programs is a powerful, effective combination for change.