Safety Climate of Commercial Vehicle Operation

Authors

Linda Ng Boyle Ph.D., University of Washington
Jeffrey Short, University of Washington

Date of this Version

2010

Document Type

Article

Citation

Report # MATC-UI: 125 Final Report 25-1121-0001-125

Comments

2011 Copyright of Mid-America Transportation Center

Abstract

Enhancing the safety culture within trucking and motor coach industries has become a key area of concern given the potential impact it has on crashes and overall safety. Many organizations recognize that safety is compromised if the culture within their organization does not promote safety. Unfortunately, the specifics of a good safety culture and the methods by which safety culture is fostered are relatively ambiguous. A key reason for this is the general lack of standardization of the highly qualitative term ―safety climate‖ within the trucking and motor coach industries. A survey was completed by 31 organizations within these industries as part of a Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis #14. The results provide some insights into the safety beliefs and attitudes of these drivers and the organizational needs to maintain a stable workforce and positive safety climate. The report provides descriptions of the data collected but lack any derived inferences that can help shape the safety culture. The results of this research project are the development of a set of key factors that capture the essence of a safety climate within the truck and busing industries. This is achieved through factor analysis of the existing survey data that has been made available to the principal investigator. The result reveals a four factor model that is grouped based on the overall safety culture in the industry, the financial impact, internal awareness, and demand for safety. This outcome suggests that there are both internal and external factors that may affect a safety manager‘s perception of safety and the safety climate within an organization, and provides insights for the trucking industry to communicate a safety culture to their employees. This, thereby, translates into a stable workforce, and reduces truck crashes. Future studies may need to consider how to both create and maintain a climate of safety.