Validating self-report transport manager safety surveys

Safety management research has focused largely on identifiable policies, practices and technologies and has relied heavily on self-report surveys of managers. This paper suggests that, in some cases, there is a strong argument for validating manager self-report surveys. It further argues that management culture can moderate the effectiveness of policies, practices and technologies. Evidence was found for the efficacy of 17 safety management characteristics in a qualitative study (n=15) designed to validate an earlier manager survey study of safety management in heavy vehicle transport operations (Mooren et al., 2014). The results suggest a better validation rate for companies with lower crash claim rates.