3.3.19 ‘The School Run’ driver training, UK
3.4.2. Risks of third-party violence in urban public transport, France
Organisation
:
SEMTA (Amiens Urban Public Transport Company)Aims
The company wanted to ease the stress caused for public bus drivers by verbal aggression, harassment, abuse of the bus and missiles being thrown at buses.
Key elements
A commitment from the bus company to channel resources (monetary and personnel) towards improving the safety of staff and vehicles.
Joining forces with the Amiens suburban authority to combine preventative efforts with the municipal authorities, police, the justice system and educational institutes.
Real-time monitoring of routes using GPS and using a radio network to keep drivers informed, e.g. about accidents.
Strengthening ticket inspection and installing CCTV cameras on buses.
Follow-up of missile-throwing incidents, including safety coordinators visiting associations involved in Anti-Aggression Week and schools in affected localities.
Speeding up prosecutions with the collaboration of the justice system to make it clear to aggressors that they will be prosecuted.
Making the public aware that aggressors will face consequences.
Assistance and legal support given to victims by the bus company The net effect of these measures was:
A decrease in the number of attacks, broken windows and staff sick leave after attacks.
Making the company’s commitment to improving the situation clearly visible to employees.
Enhancing social dialogue.
Further information
Dr Yves Helbecque, Ms Pascale Gombert Email: y.helbecque@asmis.net
Prevention of psychosocial risks and stress at work in practice, EU-OSHA, (2002) pp. 54–56.
http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/104
3.4.3.
Light and shadow (Licht und Schatten), Germany
Lead organisation: BGF (Berufsgenossenschaft für Fahrzeughaltungen (Institution for
statutory accident insurance and prevention in the vehicle operating trades)), Hamburg
Aims
To improve traffic safety by considering all visual difficulties.
Key elements
Poor eyesight, especially if combined with poor visibility, can lead to accidents. Many drivers also find that driving at night is stressful because darkness and the lights of other vehicles impair visibility.
This seminar covers:
o How to maintain good driving vision and gives hints on how to see well in the day
and at night
o How the eye works, discussing sight, impaired vision and eye disease
o Which factors are important for correct visual perception such as mirror adjustment
and visual field; problems such as amblyopia (‘lazy eye’) are highlighted
o Hints on what can be done to improve eyesight – wearing glasses, using a
sunscreen, keeping windscreens and headlamps clean
o Awareness of the risks posed by driving with poor eyesight.
Further information
BGF
Ottensener Hauptstrasse 54 22765 Hamburg
Web: http://www.bg-verkehr.de/
3.4.4.
Extra resting time for city bus drivers, Hungary
Organisation: BKV (Budapesti Közlekedési Vállalat (Budapest Transport Ltd.))
Aims
The implementation of working time legislation led to misunderstandings regarding its implications for public transport drivers and whether it applied to city bus drivers. After lengthy negations an agreement was reached between the management of BKV and the trade unions. The solution was to double resting periods from 20 minutes to two periods of 20 minutes, improving working conditions for drivers.
Key elements
Management took recommendations from workers’ representatives seriously.
Extra resting time provides more comfort for drivers. It also makes the rest period less pressurised, and this enables some flexibility which helps with keeping schedules on time.
Resting time cannot be taken at the start or the end of the working period.
Permission to take rests is incorporated into the job specification of workers.
The additional rest time had cost implications for the company; however the extra rest period significantly enhances bus drivers’ mood so that they can handle any conflicts with passengers better. The number of accidents and cases of aggression has decreased since the new break was introduced (although no statistics are available).
Better compliance, cooperation and flexibility of bus drivers have resulted in enhancements in shift planning and provide some flexibility to solve some unforeseen traffic situations.
Further information
Web: www.bkv.hu
3.4.5.
The driver’s diet, Italy
Organisation: ATAF (public transport company of Florence) Aims
To guarantee safety and quality of food for all those using the company canteen service of ATAF, Florence’s public transport company.
To make meals pleasant and appetising, and make sure they are healthy and nutritionally balanced.
To design pleasant canteen facilities to encourage interaction during lunch breaks.
To provide practical information about the nutritional content of the meals offered.
Key elements
Collaboration between representatives of the ATAF company canteen and the Florence Public Health Authority has led to the introduction of a new menu that takes account of the average daily calorie requirement for men and women, the age range of workers, the physical activity needed to perform their duties, and the need to provide light and easily digestible meals to prevent drowsiness after eating.
The operation has been publicised under the title ‘The Driver’s Diet’.
The daily menus were reviewed and dishes were colour-coded. Every dish is marked on the menu with its calorie and nutritional content; green dishes have a calorie content of fewer than 300 calories, yellow dishes have a calorie content of between 300 and 400 calories, and red dishes have a calorie content of over 400 calories. To reach the correct calorie intake level for lunch – between 1,000 and 1,100 calories – and to have a balanced mix of nutrients, the correct choice would be a red dish, a yellow dish and a green one.
This system was developed to make it easy for the canteen’s customers to make an informed choice about the nutritional balance of their meal.
A booklet has also been prepared and distributed among the company’s workers setting out the basic principles of a sound diet, in the hope that this will make it easy for workers to eat healthily away from work too.
Further information
http://www.ataf.net/System/files/Ataf_06_07@.pdf
3.4.6.
‘Zero alcohol at work. Safety above all’, Italy
Organisations: ATVO S.p.A. ((Azienda trasporti Veneto orientale) (a company involved in
public transport, vehicle hire and vehicle repair))
SPISAL (occupational health and safety services), San Donà di Piave ASL 10 Veneto Orientale (Azienda Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria n. 10)
Aims
The ‘Zero alcohol at work. Safety above all’ programme aims to encourage workers to consume no alcohol before or during work. This is intended to:
reduce accidents
create a better working environment
reduce absenteeism owing to health problems
encourage better shift organisation
increase productivity
create a better image for the company.
Key elements
An information campaign designed to make public transport drivers aware of the risks of drinking alcohol at work. The campaign was publicised through:
The display of informative posters at the offices of ATVO and on its buses.
Information sessions for bus drivers by experts from the Alcohol Unit from San Donà di Piave, which deals with the prevention or treatment of alcohol dependency in the workplace.
The distribution of leaflets about alcoholic drinks and their effects, in particular in relation to driving buses.
Further information
SPISAL of San Donà di Piave Via Trento no. 19
Alcohol Related Operating Unit of San Donà di Piave
Via Verdi no. 2
3.4.7.
‘Safe driving’, Italy
Organisation: ISPESL – Organisational Processes Department
Aims
Reduction in accidents and injuries through training workers about:
Safe behaviour
Belief in themselves
Attitudes towards others
Technical aspects of driving a vehicle
Driving and the surrounding environment
Behaviour in complex situations
Key elements
A training course for bus drivers in five sessions, the themes of which are:
Principles of safe driving
The driver
The vehicle
The environment
The course uses active learning methods; in particular the swapping of experiences among workers, exercises to raise awareness of safe driving, and teamwork.
The following supporting material for the course was prepared:
A ‘Safe driving’ leaflet
A teacher’s guide
VHS support.
A guide to the creation of the course and the ‘Safe driving’ leaflet can be found on the ISPESL website.
Further information
http://www.ispesl.it/formaz/linee/esercitazioni.htm http://www.ispesl.it/formaz/opuscoli/NStampaGuida.pdf