According to the National Transport Council Road accidents account for 50% of the occupational deaths that occur in Australia. This means that a more concentrated effort on road safety needs to be instigated in order to help reduce the number of occupational deaths that occur each and every year and that is exactly what the NTC intends to do with It’s National Road Safety Partnership Draft Program that was released for public consultation on September 6, 2012.
This program is an attempt to improve road safety and reduce occupational deaths due to accidents through a collaborative effort rather than through a regulatory approach.
According to NTC project director, Dr. Jeff Potter there are many businesses that all ready have a positive road safety culture and safety procedures that are working to improve road safety for their own employees. By using these businesses in the role of mentors to share their knowledge and own safety programs with other businesses who want to improve their own road safety programs, it is hoped that occupational road related deaths can be greatly reduced.
This program may well have several advantages for both the businesses doing the mentoring and those who are using these mentors. First, it will enable business enterprises to help one another achieve a common goal that will benefit not only the safety of all workers in those businesses, but in showing their workers that they do have their interests at heart and are working to provide safety programs that are not required by law.
Second, businesses may be more apt to volunteer for this kind of program as they won’t feel as though this program is being forced upon them by yet, more statutory regulations. Third, this actually allows all concerned businesses to make positive changes in their business by working together.
If this new program works, it may lead to other such programs that address safety issues as a joint venture rather than because the law requires them to do so. This may well improve both the businesses attitude towards safety and the workers attitude towards the companies or businesses they work for.
