It ’ s likely that you may have certain big employers operating in your area , and we suggested developing a relationship with them to allow you to engage and re-engage with their workforce over a period of time . They may want to be known as a responsible employer , or have certain obligations to provide training , or their drivers may have a reputation for phone use that they need to shake off . Whatever the reason , working with big employers ‘ upstream ’ is a good way of influencing the behaviour of large numbers of people and is more efficient than continually picking-off employees at ground level .
If there is a systemic issue to blame - for example that delivery schedules make drivers feel they have to multitask , or that relies on drivers taking orders as they drive - then we are unlikely to address the problem of mobile use by picking-off drivers repeatedly at the bottom end . There are a number of schemes that employers can sign up to , and be encouraged to sign up to , to help them to help their drivers to drive more safely ( see the pages on Van Excellence ( p56 ) and Driving for Better Business ( p55 )) and which bring benefits to the company too .
The ‘ Gig ’ Economy There are particular challenges posed by workers in the growing sector of ‘ lifestyle ’ couriers and workers ( fast food and parcel delivery drivers and riders ). These drivers are not technically ‘ employed ’ by companies , so don ’ t have workers rights or ( often ) any training . But their work is often controlled via Apps , and they are rated on the speed at which they respond to jobs . We might expect that this category of driver might start to appear in our distracted driving statistics . More information can be found via the PACTS report referenced below . 1
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Christie , N ., Ward , H . and Helman , S ., 2017 . The changing nature of driving for work and questions for safety policy and practice . PACTS : London