RoSPA – Young Drivers at Work Project
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has won a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for a young drivers scheme.
RoSPA's Young Drivers at Work Project was carried out between 2008 and 2010. It began with a pioneering study to develop a better understanding of the risks faced and created by 17 to 24 year old at-work drivers.
Using the findings, RoSPA developed a Young Drivers at Work Workshop, for young employees to discuss their experiences of driving for work. The discussions let participants reflect on personal tendencies and assumptions that affect safety. They also addressed the underlying causes of accidents such as poor journey planning.
Importantly, the young drivers also discussed what support their employers could give them (e.g. easing of unrealistic deadlines), and talked about strategies to communicate with managers and improve safety.
RoSPA's project was funded by the Department of Transport (DfT). It was conducted with the help of the DfT, Driving Standards Agency, local councils, RoadSafe and Tesco.com. To ensure the workshop can be used by as many people as possible, an online toolkit is freely available.