Safe Speed Forums

This accident analysis document was posted by Roger in another thread: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr139.pdf

It contains (P65)

5.5.1 Influence Network Model

5.5.1.1 Background

The Influence Network was originally developed to model how human and organisational factors
could affect the likelihood of human error leading to accidents in hazardous environments (e.g. nuclear
power stations, petrochemical plants, aerospace).

The Influence Network approach for human performance was enhanced by BOMEL to cover human
and hardware performance at all levels in an organisation in a single analysis, thereby giving a
comprehensive approach to understanding the factors which influence the likelihood of human error or
hardware failure in the causation of accidents. This approach has rapidly gained wide
acknowledgement and has been applied in risk assessment and, perhaps more importantly, in the
development of risk reduction strategies for a variety of accident scenarios in a wide range of
industrial sectors. The structuring within the network gives coherence to fragmented information and
the quantification enables weaknesses and areas where change may achieve substantial benefit to be
identified.

And the overarching influence in the diagram (which I haven't reproduced) is termed: "Social, Political and Context."

This is exactly the approach that Safe Speed DEMANDS to deliver sustainable road safety impovements. We have to major on cultural influence. Quite how it is that health and safety people know this and the DfT does not is one of the great mysteries of our struggle.

And of course while the DfT fails to understand the importance of cultural influence they keep pushing bad influences on us. No wonder road safety is getting worse.

(edited to correct user name of earlier poster)

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

This is also related to the broken windows effect studied ie in poor environments criminals commit more crimes. When the environment is improved then criminals seem just to reduce the amount of crime they do. I am sure the same effect is true of drivers - see more bad driving and more people getting away with it then others start to pay just a little bit less attention. There are then fewer good examples of decent driving on the road so the population starts to forget what it is and it all spirals down. The driving environment has become less easy to comply with as there are more signs, directions and white paint than ever. Once you start to have road markings that stop making sense eg lanes going from 2 to 1 to 2 again up to roundabouts when there is room for 2 all the way people start taking even less notice of other signs.

The social and cultural aspects are probably paramount. The "peer-review" debate evidenced how much our opponents don't understand this. Their fixation in that argument has been very much on "the figures" and the "quantative" aspects of the argument. (Because these are actually the most open to a "scientific" approach to peer-review). These other important aspects are normally analysed using qualitative methods (as well in some cases) - in which case peer-review is then far more open to "cultural bias" by journal editors and reviewers.

That said, it'd be easy to do a short paper forging the link between modern health and safety thinking and road safety.

Why don't we do it on the roads?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

One of the bigs things in H&S is behavoural safety - postive reinforcement, has found to be much more effective than the big stick 'You can't do that' approach.

So we have in H&S circles an approach that positively reinforces 'good' behaviour practices etc born from a realisation that plenty of 'stick' is counter productive.

Road safety policy, very little (if any) carrot and lots of stick.

No wonder our roads are becoming more dangerous !!

Some links:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/ HSE Road Safety Page.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr018.htm Research Report - Managment of work related road safety.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr020.htm Research Report - The contribution of individual factors to driving behaviour: implications for managing work-related road safety.

http://www.orsa.org.uk/ Occupational Road Safety Alliance

And at present the HSE are currently researching behavioural safety, report due later this year.

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

Umm, they aren't, they are simply becoming safer less quickly than they used to.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

The HSE road safety efforts have been downsized recently (within a year or so). When I rang the HSE press office about it they told me that they had been told to 'leave it to the experts at the DfT'.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Well, they might be getting more dangerous. I'm getting some information about manipulation of the fatality stats. You can bet you'll hear all about it as soon as I can get a grip on the facts.

Knowing what I know I really do think the damage is big enough to more than offset the gains in vehicle safety, roads engineering safety and post crash medical care.

Another factor is that there seems to have been a big drop in pedestrian activity. With such influences we could have both more dangerous roads and fewer deaths. See comments and analysis on:

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/which.html

Note that deaths amongst vehicle occupants are on the increase.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

PeterE: "Umm, they aren't, they are simply becoming safer less quickly than they used to."

You are are an optimist !!

SafeSpeed: "The HSE road safety efforts have been downsized recently (within a year or so). When I rang the HSE press office about it they told me that they had been told to 'leave it to the experts at the DfT'."

Absolutely barking, for years there has been a grey area where the police and DfT have avoided anything to do with work related driving as is seen as Health & Safety at Work Act, the HSE have avoided it as it is seen as Road Traffic Act and it fell into a grey area, the HSE have started to take this onboard and are now being told 'hands off'.

As for the downsizing, it's happening all through the HSE, to little funds and too few inspectors about 4,500 at last count to cover the UK.

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Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk