To improve company fleet safety programs, TRSA members can access from www.trsa.org slides from a TRSA Summit presentation and the recording of a TRSA webinar.
The 2024 presentation, “Accident and Near-Miss Investigations,” features Don Bock, a veteran of Mission Linen who now serves as a liaison to the TRSA Safety Committee.
Alex Greenman, director of fleet, ImageFIRST Corp., presented “Supporting Your Drivers with Safety Measures,” in the 2025 webinar.
Investigation: Planning, Responsibility, Semantics
Bock’s key premise dates to studies that proved near misses correlate with accidents, indicating that most accidents can be predicted and prevented. Each facility should have a formal accident-investigation policy and communicate to all employees that all accidents and near misses must be reported as soon as possible. The policy should convey that investigations aim to find causal factors—not place blame.
Below are sample slides from the 2024 TRSA Fleet Summit presentation. The PDF made from the slides contains Bock’s notes for each, accessible by using the comment viewer in your PDF reader (usually Adobe Acrobat). Notes are written as if they were in a textbook or manual.
Purpose of Investigation
- Prevention
- Finding cause(s)
- Avoiding blame
- Continual improvement
- Correct root causes
- Improve morale
- Documentation
Terminology and Definitions
- Near Miss (Close Call)
- Incident
- Accident
- Crash/Collision
- Henrich and Bird Triangles—Evidence of the need to track all four of the issues noted above
Accident Investigation Policy
- Formally written
- All accidents and near misses should be reported
- Purpose of investigation
- Causal factors
- Corrective actions
Investigation Plan
- Equip vehicles appropriately
- Preparation for investigation
- Fixed investigation procedures
- Personnel assigned to the investigation
- Forms necessary to complete the investigation
- Hazard Triangle
Accident Investigation Sequence
- Plan
- Do
- Check
- Act
Investigation Team
- Supervisor
- Investigative Expert
- Safety Related Role
- Legal Staff
Investigation Process
- Develop accident sequence
- Analyze the sequence
- Determine causal factors
- Recommend corrective actions
- Evaluate corrective actions
Investigation Steps
- Analyze facts
- Review accident sequence
- Cause(s)
- Corrective action
- Evaluation
Ideal Investigation Methods
- Interviews
- Photographs
- In-cab video technology
- Other investigative tasks
Multiple Causation
- Root
- Basic
- Immediate
- Lower-level
- Upper-level
- Management
Investigation Sequence
- Secure the scene
- Assess driver condition
- Photos of the scene
- Interview witnesses
- Weather
- Obtain police report
- Review maintenance history
- Review driver training
Multiple Causes: Systems Approach
- Environmental engineering
- Motivational behavior
- Capability training
Investigation Method: Ask If, and If So, Why?
- Safety rule not followed?
- Vehicle not operating properly?
- Hazardous condition present?
- Location a factor?
- Management program defective?
- Sample Incident/Injury/Collision Investigation Report
Training for, Recognizing Good Habits, Behaviors
Greenman’s session goes beyond learning from accidents to reinforcing exemplary performance, including rewarding drivers for doing something right. They need to understand that fleet management is focused on getting them home safely to their families and the importance of their safety to their companies’ success.
- Training: Behind the wheel, e-learning, staff meetings, recordkeeping
- Driver qualifications
- Day one on the job
- Compliance standards
- Driver vehicle inspection reports
- Refresher training and redundancy
- Dash cameras and telematics: helping, not spying
- Equipping trucks for emergencies
- Alertness to local weather, traffic conditions TS
