Why reporting, recording, and analysing incident data is important

Best practice guidance Incident data: reporting, recording, and analysis Produced by: Brake guidance, produced with advice and intellectual property from edriving FLEET About Brake Professional Brake Professional is a low-cost global membership scheme for fleet professionals, run by Brake, the road safety charity. The Brake Professional membership scheme is open to any organisation operating large vehicles, vans, company cars, and employee-owned vehicles, as well as fleet suppliers. Brake Professional provides its members with access to a wide range of practical road safety guidance and tools, and free and discounted access to Brake training and events. Find out more at brakepro.org. Introduction The reporting, recording, and analysis of data are some of the most powerful tools for improving the safety of your fleet. Even if your organisation has not experienced a serious collision, most organisations operating at-work vehicles experience bumps, scrapes, and near misses. This data provides the chance to identify the risks, and take action before there is a serious collision. This guidance explores the importance of reporting, recording and analysing incident data, identifying issues emerging from that data, and acting to reduce the risks. Why reporting, recording, and analysing incident data is important There are a number of reasons why it is important to make use of data recording and analysis to develop your risk management policies. The first is to ensure the safety of your drivers, staff, and members of the public. Incident data can help you identify a problem before it results in a serious injury or death. 1

Incident data can also save your organisation money. Minor collisions and scrapes begin to add up over time. Unless it is properly recorded, there is a good chance that you are unaware of the total cost. Tied to this, poor data recording can hamper your ability to defend against insurance and personal injury claims. Data can also be used to develop and evaluate new initiatives and technologies. The analysis can identify priorities in terms of which safety issues to focus on. When working with your management or board, the evidence from the data can form a persuasive argument. Data is also essential for evaluating whether a particular initiative is having an impact. Working with drivers It is essential to your organisation that drivers are encouraged and supported to report all incidents. This is a matter of having clear procedures in place and ensuring managers and drivers comply. It is important that key stakeholders, managers, and drivers understand why you are analysing incident data, and that this information will help prevent future collisions. They should also see incident reporting as a powerful tool in their own professional development and performance. Anybody who drives for your organisation should have an understanding of the procedures in place for incident reporting and recording. This is effectively done through a combination of methods: during induction, training, through the driver handbook, coaching, and all other channels of communication such as online, via toolbox talks and posters. Using a variety of methods will ensure the importance of reporting incidents is reinforced. Group discussions can be an effective way of engaging drivers. Group discussions also provide the opportunity for drivers to ask questions and contribute ideas. This helps make sure drivers are clear about what is expected from them in the event of an incident, and that they cannot claim they were unsure of the correct procedures. Having open communication within your organisation will encourage colleagues to understand the importance of collecting incident data for safety reasons, and commit to contributing to this process. Some ways in which managers, supervisors, and drivers can be encouraged to report incidents accurately and promptly are: 1. Stress the value of reporting incidents for everyone s safety, including their workmates and the public as well as their own. This is a positive initiative by your organisation. 2. Ensure reporting systems are easy to follow and use. 3. Communicate incident data, showing any improvements you achieve in terms of reduction of incidents, or any particular areas for improvement. 4. Write into your terms of employment that disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who tries to cover up an incident, no matter how minor. Penalties for non- or mis-reporting should always be greater than for honesty. 5. Raise awareness through team briefings, communications, policy awareness, e-learning, posters, and newsletters. Brake Professional s manager guidance report Effective driver training and education gives advice on how driver training and education can reduce road risk in your organisation. It is available for free for members of Brake Professional, and also from the Brake shop. The driver handbook A widely available and clearly signposted driver handbook is a first step towards effective reporting and recording of incident data. As well as explaining your organisation s policies and rules on driving, and advice on driving safely, it provides an opportunity to ensure drivers understand what to do in the event of an incident, including providing: Advice on first aid Blank incident cards (see next page) Contact details for the person in your organisation, insurer, or fleet management supplier who should be contacted to report the incident, and any additional essential contacts, for example who will recover a vehicle that cannot be driven Suggested at-scene advice for inclusion in your driver handbook: Focus on your own safety first so as not to cause any further harm. Remain calm, even if provoked by other parties. Do not argue or show aggression. 2 Continued>

If there are injuries, seek any available emergency help. If lives are at stake and you are trained to do so, deliver any essential first aid. If the police attend the scene, note the reporting officer s name, number, and station. Use your incident pack including your incident card system to record information about the incident, exchange details with third parties, and take the name and contact details of witnesses. If a camera is available, discreetly photograph the scene from different angles. Include vehicles in their impact position, damage to your own and third party vehicles/property, skid marks, and signposts. Contact your manager as soon as it is practical to do so. Reporting and recording methods Organisations can report and record their incident data in different ways. There are options for organisations of all sizes, and incomes. These can range from recording data on a spreadsheet, through to working with risk management providers. Whatever option is used, it is essential that as much data as possible from every incident is recorded. This is to make sure that the data can be appropriately analysed. This should include, as a minimum: Time of day Type of vehicle Identity of driver Location of the incident Perceived causes of the incident and supportive evidence When recording the identity of the driver, particularly for larger fleets, it is often a good idea to record this using a unique identifying number (such as their HR number) rather than the driver name. This is because driver names are often not recorded accurately. For example J Smith, John Smith, Jon Smith, Jonathan Smith and Smith J could all be the same or six different drivers. Similarly, it is not uncommon to see the name as not known, unknown, unmanned, none or not applicable. Some organisations make the mistake of using different methods, or recording different data, across departments. This may mean it is difficult to compare the information and spot trends and patterns. It will also mean it is difficult to evaluate the success of any risk management procedures that have been put into place. Incident packs All vehicles (and drivers) should have an incident pack. Putting everything together in an incident pack can help ensure that drivers do not miss anything out in the event of an incident, which can be a confusing, stressful event. Incident packs might include: incident cards (see below) a camera function on an electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet, or a disposable camera a written guide on what to do in an incident pen and torch Incident card An incident card is filled in by a driver after all incidents, however minor, providing as many details as possible. If on paper or card, blank incident cards should be kept in all vehicles at all times - for example, inside a driver handbook. Incident reports can also be filled in on a form on a tablet or smartphone. However, there are advantages to having a physical card: they can contain a section that can be detached and given to the other driver following an incident, detailing contact and insurance details. Incident cards should require the driver to fill in details including: Incident details date, time, location, road condition, speed limit of road Police details if police are in attendance, name of officer, name of station, telephone number Damage to other vehicle/property vehicle type, make/model, registration number, driver name, address, telephone number, third party insurer, policy number, description of damage Witnesses name, address, phone number Brief description of what happened including a sketch Detachable part of the form, including date, time, location of incident, driver name, registration number, depot, telephone number. This part of the card should be detached and given to the other party. 3

Telematics and camera systems Telematics records a range of information about how vehicles are driven. The technology, often linked to a global positioning satellite (GPS) system, records the location of the vehicle, as well as driver behaviours like harsh acceleration and braking. The data from telematics systems can be reviewed by a manager, sometimes in real time. Some systems also give real time feedback to drivers. Camera systems are another technology, sometimes linked to telematics, that provide data that can be analysed in the case of an incident. Camera systems can record events both inside and outside the vehicle. These technologies are a very useful tool in preventing future incidents, as long as the data they provide is properly analysed and any necessary interventions are put in place. They are also not a replacement for any other good practices, including training and educating drivers, and instilling in them the importance of incident recording. Responding to an incident The responsible manager should interview drivers within 24 hours of an incident. Together the manager and driver should complete a report form about the incident, including the causes if known. The manager needs to try to identify: How and why the incident occurred The intervention or interventions that are most likely to prevent a similar incident Any legal or insurance issues arising Support, counselling, and rehabilitation required for the driver It is important to pinpoint exactly any management, supervisory, driver, or vehicle-related issues that have led to the incident. This can include: A shortage of skills, for example the driver not being in full control of the vehicle or misjudging speeds. Further training may be necessary. An attitudinal problem, for example a driver not believing that fast speeds are more dangerous. The driver needs to be educated and enabled to understand the impact of their actions. A health problem, for example issues with eyesight or fatigue. The driver should be removed from driving until the problem is corrected. Management or supervisory failings. Vehicle-related issues such as defects, or being the wrong vehicle for the job. Journey, roster, scheduling, work allocation, or location/site-based risk factors. In the case of serious issues, or a health problem, it may be necessary for the driver to be taken off driving duties. Data analysis Analysing data and spotting trends is the next step. For example incident data might show prevalence of incidents involving: particular drivers; particular stretches of roads; reversing; or particular times of day. Some typical trends are shown in the table below, along with examples of possible investigation and actions. These are examples only, and other data fields are just as important, for example the type of location where a collision occurred. It is also important to analyse time to report how long it takes drivers to report a collision. This is important as quicker collision reporting means that it is easier to conduct an effective investigation and so fraudulent claims are reduced. Some possible trends Incidents involving same driver A high number of reversing incidents Examples of possible action Identify the problem with the driver through meetings and assessments of their driving, and analysis of their circumstances of work and general health. This could mean identifying a health problem, such as alcohol or drug use, or stress or fatigue, or inappropriate pressure on them to get somewhere too fast due to tight scheduling. It could mean a driver is identified as under-trained and needs further driver training. In some circumstances, it may mean removal (temporary or permanent) of a driver from driving duties. Consider whether systems can be implemented to reduce the need to reverse (for example through better organisation of depots or yards). It could mean identifying that safer procedures need to be implemented for reversing and staff trained in these procedures. Incidents at the same time of day Consider whether this may indicate that drivers are tired - such as during the natural afternoon 'dip' between 2-4pm. 4

Any trends that are identified should be communicated to managers and drivers. Tables, charts, and graphs can be helpful to show the trends that have been identified from the incident data. The more data you have, the more patterns can emerge, making it easier to identify problems and act upon them, and also communicate these actions to managers and drivers. Case study: The power of data This case-study was adapted from Darby P, Talboys T, Murray W. Using data for road safety in Logistics, Logistics & Transport Focus, Volume 18 (1), January 2016, p39-44. It illustrates the power of data recording and analysis. 1. Collision costs Figure one below shows how many claims were made, and the cost of each claim. The most frequent claim type was Collision with vehicles which comprised 28% of all claims, closely followed by Vehicle damage only (25%), and Collision with non-vehicle (19%). The analysis of costs reveals that collision with other vehicles made up over half of costs, despite being only 28% of claims. This is because each individual crash is expensive, costing over 1,700 on average per claim. Claim description % of Annual % of per claims change costs claim Collision with vehicle 28% -9% 51% 1,766 Damage to client's vehicle only 25% -6% 16% 633 Collision with non-vehicle 19% -7% 14% 731 Unknown 15% -23% 9.0% 592 Theft 4.5% -11% 3.0% 641 Vandalism 2.4% -14% 1.5% 588 Other 2.4% 2% 2.4% 979 Storm 1.9% 10% 1.6% 835 Damage to client's vehicle 1.5% -30% 1.3% 854 Glass 0.2% na 0.04% 192 No other vehicle/property involved 0.1% 14% 0.09% 907 Fire 0.1% -15% 0.05% 629 Overall 979 Figure one: Analysis of claims frequency and costs An analysis of the table in Figure one was used to inform policy, targeting training courses for managers and drivers, and to identify areas for communications to focus on. % of claims 2. Driver-level data The company analysed which drivers were involved in collisions. This showed them that 20% of drivers were involved with 46% of collisions. This analysis showed that a small number of drivers were responsible for a large number of collisions. In this case, the analysis was used by the company to risk-rate drivers as red, amber and green, and to allocate interventions on the basis of risk and severity. This led to face-to-face coaching interventions for the most at-risk drivers involved in multiple collisions and also computer-based coaching interventions for drivers at medium and low risk. Pareto analysis of claims v drivers 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 % of drivers % of % of drivers claims 10 29 20 46 50 77 80 93 100 100 3. Direction of travel The direction of travel at the time of the collision can be important for reducing risks. By analysing the data (Figure three), the company identified that the vehicle was parked or stationary in traffic for almost half the collisions. 28% of collisions involved vehicles moving forward and 13% involved reversing. For reversing this increased to 15% for light commercial vehicles, and 19% for heavier commercial vehicles. Type -Vehicle/ Direction-> Forward Not known Parked Reversing Stationary Car 25% 18% 40% 10% 7% Heavy commercial 38% 13% 25% 19% 6% Light commercial 30% 14% 34% 15% 7% Other 16% 54% 21% 6% 2% All vehicle types 28% 16% 36% 13% 7% Figure three: Direction of travel at time of collision The data in Figure three was used to target policy, communications, and site risk assessment. As an example, reversing and parking collisions often affect vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians, and outdoor workers. Good practice communications are cascaded organisation-wide, with targeted coaching for drivers involved in multiple reversing and parking claims. The data has also been utilised to evaluate the implementation of vehicle-based countermeasures, such as the fitting of reversing sensors and cameras. Continued> 5

Case study: The power of data (Continued) 4.Time of day The company explored the average number of claims for each hour of the day, and the difference between weekdays and weekends, shown in Figure four. The majority of events occur during the week. There are many more incidents on weekdays during the working day, with some evidence of an increase during commuting hours. Incidents continue to occur during the night, although a small increase at zero hours is likely to be an effect of incomplete data entry. Further reading Murray W & Rand (2003) Company vehicle incident reporting and recording (CoVIR), Department for Transport, Report 31 Talboys T, Darby P and Murray W (2014), Using collision and other data for road safety insight in the logistics and motor fleet sector, Paper presented at the LRN conference, University of Huddersfield, 3-5 September 2169 (2%) missing Average incidents per hour 5 4 3 2 1 Weekdays Weekends 0 0 4 8 12 16 20 Hour Figure four: Incidents per hour by time of day From this time-based data, it is clear that most of the claims took place during the working day, or while travelling to or from work. This focussed the attention of the organisation and its policies, processes, and procedures specifically on daytime driving. Brake is a registered charity, number: 1093244 Disclaimer: The products listed and views voiced in this document are not necessarily endorsed by Brake. Readers are advised to confirm the credibility of services and ideas prior to considering implementation. 6 Brake 2016