Vehicles that are being driven during the course of work activities cause a significant number of road traffic accidents, with estimates being as high as 30 per cent of all accidents. Given that in the UK there are over 156,000 bus and coach drivers driving approximately 80,000 vehicles over 4.1 billion vehicle km every year, according to the Confederation of Passenger Transport (www.cpt-uk.org/cpt), it is likely that the passenger services industry is making a contribution to the high number of work-related accidents. Indeed, in 2000, there were 149 people killed and 16,412 people injured in an accident involving a bus or coach. Reducing accident rates will not only improve road safety but also increase revenue for bus companies.Yet, efforts by bus companies to take a more active role in reducing bus accidents have been largely piecemeal. An exception to the rule is the commitment ARRIVA Passenger Services Ltd (APS Ltd) has made to improve safety through its core strategy. As well as other company initiatives, APS Ltd have introduced a wide-scale research programme based at Cranfield University aimed at reducing bus accident rates. As a major player in passenger services with a fleet of 6,700 buses, their investment helps to support the Government’s road safety strategy to significantly reduce accident rates by 2010. The research, administered by the TCD (Teaching Company Directorate) and jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Department for Trade and Industry and APS Ltd, began in September 2001. The researchers are working on three related projects. The first is concerned with the development of a bus-driving simulator to support driver training. The second project involves the design of a psychometric measure to help select drivers who may require additional driver training. The third project aims to underpin a commitment to an organisational safety-oriented culture. (Author/publisher) For the covering abstract see ITRD E116881.
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