CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GREY FLEET IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Gregory Anderson, Ron Bowles and Allan Lamb Funded by WorkSafeBC Background: (WorkSafeBC, 2013) • Motor vehicle incidents (MVIs) are a leading cause of work-related injury, death and absence from work • In British Columbia (population 4.4 million) MVIs are the leading cause of work-related traumatic fatalities ▪ 22 workers are fatally injured ▪ 1,260 are seriously injured and require time away from work ▪ average cost and days lost per MVI claim were $42,000 and 91 days respectively www.jibc.ca Background: • Grey Fleet – any personal vehicle that is used by an employee for making a work-related journey ▪ Excludes driving to and from work • “Management of grey fleet vehicles presents a multi- faceted challenge, as the organization typically has more control over the choice and working condition of its company vehicles… but many do not have any measures in place to manage the grey fleet”. (Road Safety at Work, 2012: p1) www.jibc.ca Purpose: • The purpose of this project was to examine selected characteristics of the grey fleet and related road safety programs that are presently in place in British Columbia: 1. Define the size of the grey fleet in BC, 2. Define how often and for what purpose worker-owned vehicles are used, 3. Define current road safety management programs/safe work practices for the grey fleet. www.jibc.ca Methods: • “Grey Fleet Employer Survey” was distributed via email to a random sample of 15% of all employers in BC with 4 or more employees • 17 branched, multi-segment questions comprised of a combination of closed and open ended questions • It was open for a two week period during which time three notifications were sent • Analyzed by size of employer ▪ Small (4-19 employees) ▪ Medium (20-99 employees ▪ Large (100+ employees) www.jibc.ca Results: • Of 5023 emails delivered successfully 531 responded (10.6% response); 104 declined participation • 427 completed surveys (8.4% response rate) Email Corrected for Addresses (#) Non-Delivery Large Consents Provided (#) Response Rate (%) 325 206 26 12.6 % 1657 1048 166 15.8 % 6063 3838 235 6.1 % 8045 5092 427 8.4% (100+) Medium (20–99) Small (4–19) TOTAL www.jibc.ca Results: Number of Proportion Number of Proportion Current employers of total employees of total study employers (#) employees proportions (#) (%) (%) (%) Primary Resources 9,734 4.7% 66,561 3.3 8.0 Manufacturing Construction Transportation & Warehousing 11,059 39,205 18,767 5.4% 19.0% 9.0% 196,692 160,400 90,758 9.7 7.9 4.5 6.1 10.6 2.6 Trade Service Other 19,174 107,785 781 9.3% 52.2% 0.4% 298,637 1,225,818 53,678 14.7 60.5 2.6 10.5 45.2 16.9 www.jibc.ca Present BC Context: • The purpose of this project is to examine selected characteristics of the grey fleet and related road safety programs that are presently in place in British Columbia: 1. Define the size of the grey fleet in BC, 2. Define how often and for what purpose worker-owned vehicles are used, 3. Define current road safety management programs/safe work practices for the grey fleet. www.jibc.ca Results: Grey Fleet size by stratified employer size # Employees Reported Large (100+) Medium (20–99) Small (4–19) 13,078 # Who Participate in Grey Fleet 1,597 % Who Participate in Grey Fleet 12.2% 2,503 525 21.0% 1,371 501 36.6% Over All 16,952 2,623 15.5% www.jibc.ca 1. Size of the Grey Fleet • 64.6% of responding employers report using a grey fleet • 48% had traditional fleets • 15.5% of employees in BC drive in the grey fleet, or 365,000 drivers (17.8% previously reported) • Margin of error estimated to be ±4.52% (although larger for sub-sample groups) • 14% of those with B.C. drivers licenses between the ages of 16 and 65 years of age There is a significant grey fleet in BC www.jibc.ca Present BC Context: • The purpose of this project is to examine selected characteristics of the grey fleet and related road safety programs that are presently in place in British Columbia: 1. Define the size of the grey fleet in BC, 2. Define how often and for what purpose worker-owned vehicles are used, 3. Define current road safety management programs/safe work practices for the grey fleet. www.jibc.ca Results: Purpose of travel Client visits Meetings Over All Small (4–19) Medium (20–99) Sales Large (100+) Deliver/Pick up Goods 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% www.jibc.ca 2. Frequency and purpose: • Daily use: ▪ Small - 27.8% ▪ Medium - 17.1% ▪ Large - 4.1% Purpose: Delivery and/or pick up goods Delivery and/or pick up goods Meetings • Employees were more than twice as likely to be traveling within a city or town for under 25 kilometers. www.jibc.ca Present BC Context: • The purpose of this project is to examine selected characteristics of the grey fleet and related road safety programs that are presently in place in British Columbia: 1. Define the size of the grey fleet in BC, 2. Define how often and for what purpose worker-owned vehicles are used, 3. Define current road safety management programs/safe work practices for the grey fleet. www.jibc.ca Results: Grey fleet check for valid driver’s licence Check Valid Driver’s Licence Large (100+) Medium (20–99) Small (4–19) Over All Time of Licence Check At hire Annually Other 61.5% 87.5% 50.0% 6.2% 72.3% 87.9% 25.5% 17.0% 75.1% 64.6% 42.5% 16.5% 72.5% 70.5% 39.0% 15.0% www.jibc.ca Results: Grey fleet vehicle inspections Large (100+) Medium (20–99) Small (4–19) Over All Perform a check 23.1% Time of Vehicle Inspection At hire Monthly Annually 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 24.6% 25.0% 25.0% 0.0% 35.5% 26.7% 21.7% 13.3% 31.5% 25.3% 21.8% 10.3% www.jibc.ca Results: Traditional v grey fleet licence checks Over All Small (4–19) Grey Fleet Traditional Fleet Medium (20–99) Large (100+) 0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00% www.jibc.ca Results: Traditional v grey fleet vehicle inspections Over All Small (4–19) Grey Fleet Traditional Fleet Medium (20–99) Large (100+) 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% www.jibc.ca 3. Grey Fleet Road Safety • Employers were more likely to check for a valid driver’s licence than perform vehicle safety inspections • However, many employers felt that they did not have a responsibility to check employees’ licenses and vehicles • Larger companies more likely to provide driver training over small There is a lack of awareness concerning duty of care www.jibc.ca Remarks – Thematic Analysis: • Employee responsibility ▪ did not realize that they had a duty to check on employee’s driver’s license status and the conditions of their vehicles • Never occurred to us ▪ the idea “never even crossed our minds” • Minimal driving requirements ▪ job-related driving was “very minimal” • Unaware of any problems “I have to say that just by taking this survey I realize that we need to do a better job in this area.” ▪ existing safety record and the lack of accidents as rationale for not providing safety programs www.jibc.ca Conclusion: • Employers who use grey fleets are not certain of their legal requirements under Worker’s Compensation Act (duty of care) • Education and training are required concerning the employer and employee responsibilities concerning driving safety Greg Anderson, PhD Dean, Office of Applied Research & Graduate Studies ganderson@jibc.ca www.jibc.ca Potential Impact (365,000 grey fleet drivers) • IF 25% of grey fleet drivers were in MVI • estimate 91,000 – 112,000 grey fleet MVIs • 19.6% of MVIs report casualties (ICBC, 2013) ▪ a payment is made for injury or fatality • 47% of WorkSafeBC claims include wage loss claims • THEN 8,390 – 10,320 MVIs should be reported to WorkSafeBC annually that include time loss claims • the average cost and days lost per MVI claim were $42,000 and 91 days (WorkSafeBC, 2013) • Estimates: $353 - 434 million 1.6 - 2.0 million days www.jibc.ca