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Over 1 million people are killed in road traffic accidents each year, while more humanitarian workers injured or killed in vehicle related incidents than by any other means.
On 14 April 2004, the United Nations General Assembly passed GA Resolution 58/289, calling for increased attention and resources to be directed towards road safety. It also stressed the importance of international cooperation in the field of road safety and fostering increased awareness and activities aimed at combating the problem within UN organisations.
In response to this resolution, the Fleet Forum was specifically mandated to address road safety within the humanitarian community. To this end, a dedicated Fleet Safety project was developed that responds to the expressed need of organisations to tackle their fleet safety problem, professionalise their fleet operations and rectify the systemic lack of fleet safety training within the humanitarian community.
The project’s goal is to:
Reduce the number of road crashes and resulting injuries and fatalities caused by and involving the employees of international humanitarian organisations, by establishing a culture of road safety within these organisations, while aiding agencies to fully comprehend and advocate for road safety as a development issue.
Improvements in road safety performance will result in fewer crashes causing death and injury to employees and the public, a reduction in the loss of investment in staff training equipment and vehicles, and a reduction in the disruption of the delivery of life-saving assistance.
The FS Project, which has taken three years to research, develop and execute its initial implementation, consists of 2 primary phases that have resulted in an innovative comprehensive toolkit and 5 training modules.
The Project
When the Fleet Forum decided to develop a fleet safety solution which would directly impact not only the humanitarian community but be replicable across commercial and government institutions around the world, it first sought partnerships with relevant experts around the world. A team of leaders in safety, vehicles, and fleets were pulled together from Volvo, Kjaer Group, Shell, the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, FIA Foundation, UN Road Safety Collaboration, World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, Global Road Safety Partnership, TNT, and Make Roads Safe. Drawing on their different expertise, research was conducted to ascertain the current state of humanitarian fleet safety and gather data on the frequency and type of accidents and incidents suffered.
This initial project research illustrated that the biggest challenge facing agencies was a systemic lack of accident reporting data. Without this information a serious challenge is faced by the humanitarian community to fully comprehend the financial and personnel costs of their vehicle operations. In addition, it was clear from research that while many agencies focused on fleet safety as a driver issue, it is in fact a management responsibility.
With information in hand, the team then sought to meet the needs uncovered, and developed a project proposal. Tapping into the interest from the commercial sector to be involved, the Fleet Forum applied, and was granted, funding through Danida’s Public Private partnership programme to develop a toolkit and training modules.
The Fleet Safety toolkit focuses on a holistic approach where the ultimate responsibility and accountability for adequate fleet safety lies with management. To assure that the toolkit was relevant in an operational environment phase 2 of the project involved an initial implementation of the material with 6 humanitarian agencies who provided continual feedback. Learn more about the first implementation in Kenya here.
The Material
With funding and project partners in place, the process of drafting and developing the toolkit and other material began.
The toolkit itself is an easy-to-use guide consisting of:
- Background material on the issues
- Procedures and guidelines for safe fleet practices
- Practical tools for implementing fleet safety
- Tips and tricks for effect safe fleet management
- Business cases on the impact of fleet safety
- Data gathering formats
Recognising that in addition to the toolkit which would serve as a guide to the process of implementing a fleet safety strategy, organisations would need mechanisms to help train staff and raise awareness, training modules were developed focusing on:
- Awareness raising
- Management change
- Driver training
- Fleet operators
- Training of trainers.
Finally, to provide the project with a clear picture of the link it plays to the general public, and to assist in educating all staff within organisations that they as individuals have a role to play in the greater road safety epidemic, an awareness video was created.
Some of the benefits for organisations implementing effective fleet management systems:
- Lower Fleet Operating Costs .
- Reduction in Incident Losses
- Reduction in Staff Time Lost
- Reduced Insurance Costs
- More Effective Vehicle Use
- Improved Staff Morale
- Improved ’Off the Job’ Road Safety
- Improved Safety Culture
- Better Reputation
Next Steps
Already recognised in the UN Secretary General’s 2007 Annual Report on International Road Safety, the Fleet Forum aims to ensure the project’s long term viability and will launch the project to the larger humanitarian community and fleet safety stakeholders in late 2008. Continual advocacy and communications about fleet safety and the successes of organisations implementing the toolkit are underway to spread the fleet safety message and encourage the continual growth of fleet safety practices across the humanitarian community.
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