The purpose of this study was to develop and test the reliability and validity of a new scale designed for measuring safety climate among lone workers, using truck drivers as exemplar. The new scale employs perceived safety priority as the metric of safety climate and a multilevel framework, separating the measurement of organization- and group-level safety climate. The second purpose of this study was to compare the predictive power of generic items with trucking industry-specific ones. Three dimensions for each of the two levels of safety climate were drawn from the results. The organization-level safety climate dimensions were proactive practices, driver safety priority, and supervisory care promotion. The group-level safety climate dimensions were safety promotion, delivery limits, and cell phone disapproval. Predictive validity of both generic and industry-specific items was supported, but the industry-specific items provided a stronger predictive value. Results showed that the scale is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the essential elements of safety climate for truck drivers in the lone working situation. (Author/publisher)
Abstract