Fleet Manager s Guide - Accident Information Management

Transcription

1 Fleet Manager s Guide - Accident Information Management Introduction The various parts of a Fleet Loss Control Program such as driver selection, preventive maintenance, and driver training are designed to help prevent losses. Nevertheless, accidents happen. Despite the best efforts of your program, it may mean that a hazard has been overlooked in planning or training. By investigating the facts of each occurrence, you may be able to uncover the underlying hazard and prevent a recurrence of the loss. Accidents deplete company assets, either through lost time or money, so it's incumbent upon your fleet management to set a goal of "zero losses." To help achieve this objective, establish a system of reporting, recording, and analyzing the facts surrounding vehicular accidents. An "Accident Information Management Process" program identifies the steps to take when an accident does occur. Everyone involved should understand that an accident investigation is not performed to determine fault, but rather to find the cause so it can be remedied. To accomplish this, all the facts of an accident must be known, --- in other words the "the who, what, when, where and why" of an incident. Module Overview The Accident Information Management Process is broken into three major categories, or modules: Accident Scene Management Techniques Driver's Responsibilities Management's Responsibilities An Overview of Accident Investigation Topics Elements of an Accident The Investigation Process Common Errors Encountered in Accident Investigation Information Management Accident Record Keeping Accident Analysis Benchmarking to Measure Success Accident Scene Management Techniques Driver Responsibilities The driver's initial actions at an accident scene are often critical to minimize the ultimate costs of the incident. Therefore, the driver has responsibility for: Protecting the vehicle and cargo or passengers against further damage/injury Assessing the scene to determine the scope of the accident Addressing the other vehicle's involvement in the accident 40144(E) Page 1 of 11

2 The driver may be under considerable stress at the time, so the procedures should be clear, concise, and thoroughly understood. Periodic training on what to do at the scene of the accident will also help to prepare the driver for implementing these procedures. "The Five Steps" The driver should remember and implement a five-step procedure when an accident occurs: 1. Stop at once and protect the vehicle from further damage. 2. Check for injuries and assess the scope of damage. 3. Summon help appropriate to the situation (police, ambulance, or fire department) 4. Notify the company of the accident 5. Complete the accident report kit that is kept in the vehicle Each company may have its own priority items to include on this list. As priorities grow, training becomes more critical to ensure that the steps are implemented correctly and completely. Protecting the Scene If the vehicle is operable, and the driver is not injured, the roadway should be cleared. This reduces the likelihood of other vehicles striking the damaged vehicles. If the vehicle is inoperable, dangerously damaged (leaking fuel, loose wheels, deflated tires), or there is no safe area nearby, the driver must take additional steps to warn motorists of the hazards. Whether the vehicle is moved off of the roadway or not, the scene should be marked with reflective triangles or similar warning devices. Before flares are used, the driver should be absolutely certain that there is no potential for a fire from spilled fuel or chemicals. Get Help The driver should contact the appropriate authorities as soon as possible. Commercial or Citizens Band (CB) radios or cellular phones may be used to call the police, ambulance, fire department, and/or hazardous material spill clean-up contractors. If the company vehicle is not equipped with a two-way radio or cellular phone, the driver should carefully "flag-down" a passing motorist to relay a request for assistance. The driver should write a short note describing the accident location, type of assistance needed, and offer it to the motorist. This will help to ensure that the right information is provided to the authorities. The driver should not leave the scene of an accident. First Aid If your company drivers are expected to render basic, life saving first aid at the scene of an accident, they should receive specialized training (with periodic refreshers), and be familiar with appropriate precautions to protect themselves from the spread of communicable, bloodborne pathogens. (A complete program effort to address this concern is beyond the scope of this document.) Notify the Company The driver needs to let the company know what has happened so that they can respond appropriately. Every driver should have a list of names and phone numbers of company personnel who are to be contacted in case of an accident. The company should designate key personnel and alternates to handle such calls. Accident report calls should be handled on a priority basis (E) Page 2 of 11

3 Companies that rely heavily on two-way radios for communications to drivers in the field may want to reserve a "secondary" channel for emergency calls. The driver must be prepared to follow any special instructions offered by the company; however, the driver must clearly communicate the scope of any injuries and state-ofmind following the accident. Reporting Kits To help facilitate the initial information-gathering process, a packet containing instructions and forms for use in the event of an accident should be carried in the vehicle at all times. Thoroughness in performing this initial information-gathering task will be of great help in assessing the incident afterwards. Note that accident reporting kits designed for this purpose are available from Fireman's Fund, and from a variety of safety vendors. Photography Many commercial vehicle fleets are now equipped with disposable cameras in the accident reporting kit. If drivers are expected to photograph the accident scene, instruction on documenting the scene should be provided. Photographs can document the scene and any damage to the vehicles and cargo, as well as the overall environment. Drivers should take pictures from each compass direction to get a good overview of the scene. Close-up shots highlight vehicle damage: one showing the entire vehicle (including, when possible, the license plate to ID the vehicle); one about half way to the final closeup shot; and the final shot showing detail of the damage. Instruct drivers to take these shots in a series and from the same angle. Disposable cameras are available at many stores. Fireman's Fund has arranged with One Hour Photo to offer our Fireman's Fund customers a discount on a premium disposable camera package. To order cameras for your fleet, contact One Hour Photo, and mention that you are a Fireman's Fund Customer ordering the Fireman's Fund camera: One Hour Photo, Inc. (JDE Enterprises, Inc.) 374 Newton Street, Suite 2B Canfield, OH FAX jdeenter@aol.com (Dan Eicher) Actions to Avoid Additional driver responsibilities may include actions to be avoided. Many companies do not want their drivers talking to the press after an accident, and most emphasize that the driver should not discuss fault or responsibility with anyone other than company investigators. Generally, drivers should not admit fault or apologize for the accident - just gather the facts. Management's Responsibilities The management team must have a Response Plan in place to handle any loss. Organizations that feature 24- hour service should designate a member of the management team to cover each shift, and provide training and processes to facilitate a uniform response to accidents when they occur (E) Page 3 of 11

4 First Notice Management must determine, and clearly communicate, to the office staff which procedures to follow when a call reporting an accident is received. The person who collects this information needs to be aware of the importance of the data, and know how to take a report when the caller is not the company driver (a motorist calling on their behalf). If the switchboard is to forward the call, the operator must know who to forward it to, and who the alternates are when that person is not available. Practice Calls Practice calls and unannounced drills can be helpful in identifying information gathering process problems before a real accident occurs. Practice drills familiarize the office staff with activities not normally handled, and demonstrate the seriousness and necessity of accurate information gathering during an actual crisis. The management team should place a priority on accident reporting quality, as inaccurate information can lead to additional costs resulting from delays in dispatching support teams (replacement vehicles or mechanics) to the accident site. Instruct your office staff of the vital importance of this process and that accident reports should be considered a priority. Your organization might want to include the efficiency and effectiveness of accident response in the performance review of those who are directly involved in the process of taking the initial report calls. Checklists Use of a checklist for recording accident data expedites the collection of information. Standardized forms also improve the quality and quantity of data available to the management team when deciding whether to send someone to the accident scene. Review the checklist with receptionists, dispatchers, and/or members of the management team so that everyone understands how the failure to develop the information may negatively impact the company's response to the situation. A sample checklist is provided below. If your fleet handles hazardous materials or carries passengers, you may want to expand the checklist to address specialized concerns (E) Page 4 of 11

5 Accident Information Record Date: Time (of call): Person collecting information: Who placed the call to us? Driver? Police? Other? (name and telephone number) 1. Is driver injured? (describe, briefly) 2. Exact Location of Accident: 3. What happened? 4. Have the authorities (police, ambulance, fire department) been notified? 5. Have the authorities arrived at the scene? 6. Is the company vehicle operable and safe to drive to the next stop? 7. Is the Cargo damaged and in need of transloading to another vehicle? 8. Has the driver completed the accident reporting kit that was supplied to the vehicle? 9. Has the driver recorded the scene of the accident with the supplied camera? 10. Can we reach the driver by phone/radio if we need to follow up with more questions? Phone #: 11. Any information on the other vehicle(s) involved in the accident? (injuries, number of other vehicles involved, type of vehicle(s)) Remind Driver: Do Not Admit Guilt/Fault; Do Not Talk To Press/Media 40144(E) Page 5 of 11

6 Determining the Scope of the Investigation Once the information has been collected, the responsible accident investigation team leader should determine if an on-scene presence is necessary. If so, they should drive (or be driven) to the site as soon as possible, obeying all traffic regulations. If there are fatalities, multiple serious injuries, or extensive property damage, it is often desirable to send someone to the accident scene immediately to initiate the investigation. If the driver is severely injured or killed, dispatch a company representative to the accident scene. The following decision tree may assist in the accident investigation process. Of course, your management team needs to determine the appropriate decision conditions and responses to fit your company's needs. Some companies chart the entire accident management process from first report to the final conclusions of the Accident Review Board. This type of analysis helps the management team to understand how involved and costly (including hidden costs) an accident can be to the organization. This process also reveals gaps in procedures and protocols. All accidents should be investigated to some extent. The level of involvement depends on the severity of the accident, the qualifications of the investigator, and whether the accident is representative of frequently occurring incidents that have been difficult to control. The management team needs to know the cause of the accident in order to determine what might be done to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Even without an on-scene investigation, management will usually conduct interviews with the driver and any passengers who were in the company vehicle. Careful review of the driver's accident reporting kit and related photographs, police reports, and witness statements will also lend insight into what actually happened (E) Page 6 of 11

7 Outside accident reconstruction firms can help to establish what happened at the scene, and may be able to respond more quickly if they are physically closer to an accident scene. Training Train key personnel in basic accident investigation techniques, and ensure that drivers, dispatchers, and support staff understand their respective roles in the investigation process. Internal training for drivers and dispatchers should suffice for developing an understanding of information gathering and reporting; however, anyone investigating accident scenes should be professionally trained and/or certified in investigation procedures. An Overview of Accident Investigation Topics Elements of an Accident The supervisor who blames all accidents on carelessness is no better than the mechanic who attempts to repair a machine by kicking it. Neither understands the cause of the problem and therefore cannot solve it. There is nothing mysterious about an accident. The details can be analyzed for defects just like a machine. Each of the five elements of an accident listed below should be examined, with the information obtained used to prevent subsequent occurrences. The five elements of an accident are: 1. The Agency: That tool, material, or equipment (or part thereof) most closely associated with the accident. (Example: shop wall.) 2. Accident Type: The manner in which the driver made contact with the agency involved in the accident. (Example: backed up truck to leave shop.) 3. Unsafe Condition: The condition of an agency (object) that if left uncorrected or uncontrolled is likely to precipitate a loss. (Example: missing rear view mirror.) 4. Unsafe Act: Any deliberate or unknowing violation of a commonly accepted or designated procedure of operation that may precipitate an accident. (Example: not reporting the missing mirror and getting it replaced.) 5. The Personal Factor: The reason for the person's unsafe action or practice. (Example: lack of knowledge, disregard of instruction, emotional upset.) When an accident is examined in this fashion, you will discover what existing condition(s) contributed to the accident. You must then ask why this condition or action existed. The unsafe act, which contributed to the accident, will also be identified, along with the reason (personal factor) for its performance. Having discovered both the unsafe act and/or condition contributing to the accident and the reasons for their existence, corrective action can be taken on one or both. The elements of any accident can be developed from interviews with the driver and through a careful review of the accident information provided in the accident report. There are times, however, when an on-site investigation is the only means to develop sufficient information to address the elements of the loss (E) Page 7 of 11

8 The Investigation Process Start the investigation as soon as possible after the incident, while memories are fresh and/or evidence is still available. Delay will only obscure the facts. The investigator should determine how the accident occurred, what physical evidence might be available, and other factors that contributed to the accident. From this information, the investigator can reconstruct the events leading to the accident and record those facts for future reference. The accident should be investigated by someone with authority who is also familiar with the equipment and processes involved. This individual or group/team should have received training in accident investigation procedures. The investigator(s) will also need to coordinate efforts with local authorities to help facilitate the comprehensive development of information. Observe established protocols when dealing with accident scenes, and establish evidence-handling procedures in case legal proceedings result from the accident. On-site investigations focus on gathering relevant physical evidence that helps describe the facts surrounding the incident. Each area of consideration (road condition, weather condition, skid marks, position in roadway, and exact point of impact) will be of varied importance at each accident site. Investigations of daytime accidents may not involve headlight remains, but rear-end collisions may focus closely on determining whether the brake lights were illuminated at the time of the collision. Detailed photographs and diagrams are also parts of the on-scene investigation. Clear labels and "in scale" drawings may be useful in diagnosing what went wrong, and will aid in training other drivers on what to do to avoid similar accidents. Often, management asks: "Why train and certify employees in on-scene investigations?" Some of the reasons are outlined below: Support the driver by verifying the description of the accident. Support the company s effort in defending against legal actions resulting from the accident. Provide real conclusions about the cause of the accident, rather than a best guess. Control costs through rapid response to the scene and helping to control the severity of the loss. Handling of physical evidence and cooperation with the local law enforcement agency demand training and explicit care from the on-scene investigator. If your company decides to investigate accidents at the scene, get the team leader certified through accident investigation training courses, or hire an experienced investigator. Finally, all accidents should be reported and investigated; a minor injury or near-miss is a possible forewarning of future serious loss. This is especially true for accidents that happen frequently, but are not, individually, very costly. The cumulative costs of recurring incidents can impact your bottom line and may lead to more serious accidents in the future (E) Page 8 of 11

9 Common Errors Encountered in Accident Investigation When an accident occurs, there must have been an unsafe act or condition present, or a combination of circumstances. If you don t find either situation existing, you need to keep asking: "WHY?" Why was the roadway glare so intense that the driver could not see the stop sign? Why was traffic stopping suddenly? Were the brakes a factor (or not a factor?) The failure to keep asking why (or even "how") leads to ignoring the contributing unsafe act or condition rather than seeking the underlying cause. For example: If an injury occurs as a result of an employee slipping on oil left by a leaking lift truck, the corrective action is not using additional oil absorbent. That would only remedy the unsafe condition, while repairing the lift truck would eliminate the hazard entirely. (Here the investigator stopped at the answer to the question "Why did the employee fall?" instead of continuing on to answer the question "Why was there oil leaking from the lift truck?") Another common problem is assigning a cause to an accident that is too general or vague to yield corrective action. For example: "He was careless." - This is an effect, not a cause. Ask instead: How was he careless? Why was he performing carelessly? How should it have been done? "He was inattentive." - Similar to "He was careless." Was the driver fatigued? Was the driver distracted? Could the driver have anticipated trouble ahead based on warning signs or stopped traffic? "He didn t follow instructions." - Usually stated by the person responsible for giving the instructions. What specific instruction was disobeyed? Why was it disobeyed? Were the instructions given properly? Were the instructions understood? In other words, determining the root or underlying cause of an accident can be difficult unless the investigator continues to probe for additional factors that led to the loss. If you are to benefit at all from investigating accidents, effort must be made by persons reviewing losses to find the underlying cause of loss. Information Management Accident Record Keeping A formal accident report should be completed and forwarded to the fleet's insurance company as soon as possible. Some fleet operations may also need to file reports with the state or federal government. In most cases, the organization that requires the report has a standard form or format that needs to be utilized. Prompt completion and submission of these reports ensures that the agencies involved can react and respond appropriately to the incident. Priority given to these reports also reduces the likelihood that it will be overlooked or lost. Create a permanent file for all of the pertinent information concerning an accident. This will include the preliminary accident report from the driver, copies of accident reports submitted to various agencies, accident investigation data, police records and reports, and any other information that might be useful in evaluating the accident (E) Page 9 of 11

10 Record all vehicle accidents within an "accident register" and keep it in chronological order to provide the company with a summary of accidents occurring over the course of each year. Include the following information in your accident register: Date of Accident Name of Driver/License Number/State of Issue Vehicle Identification Number(s) Location of Accident Brief Description of Accident Fatalities Injuries Property Damage Time of Day Road Conditions Accident Analysis Analyzing the accident register may reveal problem areas or identify trends that would not otherwise be obvious by reviewing accident reports separately. Accident analysis provides a way to focus effort where it will have an impact on those factors that are driving loss costs higher. The analysis process begins with the grouping of similar or common facts about your fleet's accidents: How many accidents of each type were there? How many involved poor weather or visibility? Which ones were the most costly (and why?) Examine the common factors or causes. Those that stand out as unusual or highly repetitive require more study. Trends to watch include: Many accidents of the same type (backing, merging) Many similar causal factors (fatigue, visibility) Time of occurrence (Monday morning, Friday night) Specific equipment or model types (COEs vs. conventionals) Focus on the trends that emerge in order to change driving behavior and raise awareness of the loss issues. Benchmarking to Measure Success Many commercial fleets have been analyzing their own accident experience for years. However, some have had difficulty in determining whether they were above or below the "industry average" for their type of operation. The National Safety Council, among others, has been helpful in providing a clearinghouse to study the issue of how many accidents per million miles traveled should be considered "average" for different fleet segments. The results of benchmarking studies are published annually for fleets to use in comparing accident rates against similar fleet segments. The benefit of comparing accident rates against the industry standard can provide an effective selling and motivation tool when seeking funding for additional safety efforts or while creating safety goals for drivers and management. The comparison evens out differences in fleet size. While large fleets may have a higher frequency of accidents than smaller fleets, the rate calculation balances the number of accidents against the miles driven (E) Page 10 of 11

11 The calculation of your fleet s accident rate can be done manually. The recognized formula for determining accident frequency rates is: (Actual miles traveled is for all vehicles in the fleet during a one-year period.) While not all fleet segments are included in the largest annual studies, specialty fleets can conduct their own studies through trade associations. The American National Standards Institute publishes a standard, Method of Recording and Measuring Motor Vehicle Fleet Accident Experience and Passenger Accident Experience (D15.1), which serves as and aid in conducting benchmark studies. For Further Assistance This Web site will lead you to National Transportation Statistics Chapter two details transportation's safety record, providing data on accidents, crashes, fatalities, and injuries for each mode and for hazardous materials Fireman's Fund has additional fleet safety materials and assistance available to you. They may be obtained by: Contacting your Fireman's Fund Loss Control Consultant; Calling the Fireman's Fund Loss Control Help Desk toll-free at ; or ing us at: urce@ffic.com This bulletin provides general information and procedures that may apply to many business operations; however, it is not a comprehensive treatise on the subject, nor a "turnkey" plan to be implemented. Consult with your staff and/or specialists to determine how best this information may guide you to specific plans for your operations. Additionally, this bulletin does not substitute for legal advice, which should come from your own counsel. All recommendations described in this bulletin are generic and not specific to your unique business operations. This bulletin may contain references to third party Web sites. These references are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by Fireman's Fund of the content of such third party Web sites. Fireman's Fund is not responsible for the content of such third-party sites and does not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of materials on such third party Web sites. If you decide to access third party Web sites, you do so at your own risk. Any description of insurance coverage is a partial summary of coverage available. Your actual coverage will depend on the terms and conditions of your policy and the limits you select. The policy may contain exclusions and limitations that are not detailed in this Insights, and coverage may differ by state. 1996, 2003 Fireman s Fund Insurance Company, Novato California, All rights reserved LC.Source ( ) 40144(E) Page 11 of 11