Advocating for good practice in work-related road safety – the role of the road safety NGO

This paper will provide a background to Brake and its initiatives, including the Fleet Safety Forum. It will explore the many financial as well as safety benefits of investing in road risk management measures relating to systems, drivers and vehicles, as realised by members of the international Fleet Safety Forum, coordinated by Brake. It will also explore how, at the heart of the efforts to achieve these financial as well as safety benefits, is a social and cultural investment and change by companies in road risk management and the wider societal benefits of putting safety first. Finally, it will look at the results of Brake’s initiatives in fleet safety, and more widely in road safety, alongside successful initiatives undertaken by organisations in addressing their road risk. Brake’s research and engagement with thousands of businesses, government agencies and other NGOs suggests that road safety should be at the heart of organisations’ Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, and by doing this, organisations can achieve wider buy in from the shop floor up to Board level, as well as engaging employees’ families and the wider community in a key issue that affects everyone from children to the elderly, and where organisations can be shining lights in achieving change. Case studies will be presented relating to many successful organisations that have worked with Brake’s Fleet Safety Forum over the past 15 years, along with key achievements of Brake’s work in this, and other areas of road safety.