•
as well as their call. A potential customer or colleague (for example) that
was trying to reach them would not then feel ‘ignored’, and the driver
would not be distracted.
Employers have a big role here too, and should be encouraged to be
vocally supportive of drivers not using their phones for any reason
whilst driving. If a company is known, or reported to be, exerting pressure
on its drivers, then efforts should be directed higher up the company and
attempts made to bring about changes in company policy.
Part of our ambition for this compendium is that it will change the way things are done. But this can mean asking
difficult questions about current activity. We appreciate that challenges may be made from colleagues that are
uncertain of change and cautious about making amendments to current practice. Some of the following responses
might be useful in addressing these concerns, and you may find that the support of some research (including
the works we have referenced in this compendium) will help you to make valid arguments for development,
progression and advancement of your approach, or even stopping doing some things altogether.
We think it works so
why change it?”
“It’s always worked
in the past”
“Evaluation is too
resource intensive”
•
•
It is important to provide evidence that any road safety approach
works, and it is not enough to simply feel that something is working.
For funding applications, evidence to colleagues/superiors and to
justify the continuation of your approach, this evidence is necessary.
It is in our best interests to implement the most effective interventions
that we possibly can, so we need to know if we are doing the right
things. Technology is transforming the way we live and work, and
drive, so things that we have been doing for years might not be
effective any more - through no particular fault of their own.
• Evaluation is an important component of any approach, for evidencing
that something works, or finding that it does not. It can also help us
understand why things are working, and help us avoid accidentally
changing small things that might turn out to have been crucial to a
project’s success.
• Evaluation does not necessarily need to be resource intensive or
costly. With the development of suitable evaluation materials, such
as a survey, you are able to conduct evaluation of your own, without
the need to call in outside help. Evaluation materials, once
designed, can be used again and again so are worth the effort it takes
to construct them in the first place.
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