The document discusses potential safety culture interventions to promote safe driving in the workplace, outlining a general model that includes personal, task, organizational, and environmental factors influencing driver behavior. It highlights the role of leadership and organizational values in shaping driver safety motivation, as well as specific safety measures such as training, fatigue management, and mobile phone policies. Lastly, it addresses strategies to overcome resistance to cultural change while implementing shared norms that support safe driving practices.

1. How to support safe driving at work –
Possible safety culture interventions
Prof. Dr. Gudela Grote
Departement Management, Technology, and Economics
ETH Zürich

2. Overview
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 A general model for safe driving at work
 Characteristics of driver behavior
 Organizational factors influencing safe driving
 Supporting organizational and cultural
change

3. Gudela Grote
Safe driving at work – a general model Page3
Personal factors
•Capability
•Age, gender
•Sensation seeking
•Physical and mental state
Task factors
•(Multiple) demands
Driver Driving
•Duration behavior effects
•Timing and time pressure •Vigilance •Performance
•Control •Traffic offences
Organizational factors •Risk-taking •Accidents
•Leadership •Errors •Incidents
•Safety management
•Shared norms and values
Environmental factors
•Road and vehicle conditions
•Other road users
•Weather

4. Gudela Grote
Safe driving at work – a general model Page4
Personal factors
•Capability
•Age, gender
•Sensation seeking
•Physical and mental state
Task factors
•(Multiple) demands
Driver Driving
•Duration behavior effects
•Timing and time pressure •Vigilance •Performance
•Control •Traffic offences
Organizational factors •Risk-taking •Accidents
•Leadership •Errors •Incidents
•Safety management
•Shared norms and values
Environmental factors
•Road and vehicle conditions
•Other road users
•Weather

5. Unrealistic optimism and illusion of Gudela Grote
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control
 People underestimate the likelihood of bad
outcomes and overestimate the likelihood of
good outcomes for themselves compared to
others.
 This tendency is strengthened for outcomes
perceived as controllable by the person.
 Examples:
- Newlyweds expect their marriage to last a lifetime, even while
aware of the divorce statistics.
- Smokers believe they are less at risk of developing smoking-related
diseases than others who smoke.
- Car drivers estimate their chances of an accident when driving
under the influence of alcohol as lower than for drunken driving in
general.

6. Risk perception in driving (Fuller, 2005)
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 Felt risk mirrors task difficulty.
 Task difficulty is determined by task demands
and individual capability.
 Estimated statistical risk and felt risk regarding
speed only coincide at higher speeds where
task demands approach individual capability
(= task difficulty is very high).

7. Risk as benefit: Risk seeking behavior
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 Risk seeking versus risk avoidance
- Personality characteristic
- Cultural norm
- Affected by situational characteristics
• gain versus loss
• personal control

8. Different types of driver errors
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(Reason et al., 1990)
 Lapse
- e.g. attempt to drive away from traffic light in third
gear
 Mistake
- e.g. underestimate the speed of oncoming vehicle
when overtaking
 Violation
- Unintended: e.g. unknowingly speeding
- Deliberate: e.g. get involved in races with other
drivers

9. Measures to avoid driver errors
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 Lapse  Support vigilance
 Mistake  Increase training and
experience
 Violation
- Unintended  Support vigilance
- Deliberate  Change individual and collective
behavior norms

10. Gudela Grote
Safe driving at work – a general model Page10
Personal factors
•Capability
•Age, gender
•Sensation seeking
•Physical and mental state
Task factors
•(Multiple) demands
Driver Driving
•Duration behavior effects
•Timing and time pressure •Vigilance •Performance
•Control •Traffic offences
Organizational factors •Risk-taking •Accidents
•Leadership •Errors •Incidents
•Safety management
•Shared norms and values
Environmental factors
•Road and vehicle conditions
•Other road users
•Weather

11. Leadership to support safe driving
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(Newman, Griffin & Mason, 2008)
 High safety motivation of drivers is related to few self-
reported crashes.
 Drivers' safety motivation is related to their perception
of managers' safety values.
 Managers' perception of organizational safety values
are related to drivers' perception of managers' safety
values.
 Leadership at all levels of the organization influences
drivers' safety motivation and behavior.
 Safety interventions should address the organizational,
work group, and individual level. (Newman & Watson, 2011)

12. General safety management
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 Safety Policy
 Risk identification and mitigation
 Safety resources and responsibilities
 Standards and procedures
 Training
 Safety performance monitoring
 Continuous improvement
 Management of change

13. Example Standards and Procedures: Gudela Grote
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Rules at Shell
Four out of twelve are driving related!
 One basic rule about rules: Use fixed prescription
only when it really holds in all situations

14. Specific safety management measures Gudela Grote
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for safe driving
 Selection
- avoid hiring young men
- test for risk perception and risk seeking/avoidance
 Handling fatigue
- establish a not fit to drive rule
- structure driving schedules to allow for sufficient breaks and
rest time
- take into account commuting time when designing work
schedules more generally
- train drivers to handle monotony while driving
 Policy for mobile phone use
- generally avoid phone use
- if unavoidable only use when vehicle is stopped
- if unavoidable during driving ensure proper technical systems
and training

15. Shared norms and values
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 Establishing shared norms and values that
support safe work processes and behaviors as
defined in the safety management system
 Establish a safety culture
 Safety culture as part of organizational culture
= shared basic beliefs and assumptions
- safety versus production
- trust versus control
- role of people and technology
 Culture often most visible as a source of
resistance to change

16. Supporting organizational and cultural Gudela Grote
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change
 Causes of resistance to change
- Sense of loss of control
- Sticking to old norms as part of existing culture
 Strategies for dealing with resistance
- Coercive: sanction change through use of power
- Rational: inform about advantages of change
- Normative: develop new values and norms =
culture change
 Requirements for normative strategy
- Participation to improve quality and acceptance
of decisions
- Psychological safety

17. An easy start into cultural change ...
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 Having people answer questions like the
following reduces self-reported risky driving
several weeks later (Falk, 2010)
- Take over when the car in front slows down in
adherence to speed limit
- Drive too close to car in front to get driver to move out
of the way
- Drive fast to show others I can handle the car
- It is OK to speed when traffic conditions allow
- If you have good driving skills speeding is OK
- Sometimes it is necessary to bend the rules to keep
traffic going
- I often think about the possibility that I myself might get
hurt in traffic.
- I could not live with myself if I hurt another human
being in traffic.

18. Gudela Grote
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Thank you!
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Gudela Grote
ETH Zürich
www.oat.ethz.ch
ggrote@ethz.ch