“No one will die if you don’t respond while driving. The reverse is not necessarily true. » Here’s one of the shocking slogans you might find on a poster in your company’s break room. Because road safety invites itself into societies, in order to warn of the many risks that workers and managers may run.
Speed, phone while driving, alcohol, the main causes of road accidents do not spare professional journeys. In 2020, there were 16,900 work-related accidents (travel from housing to the workplace or travel in the context of work), according to the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (ONISR). It is the first cause of death at work.
Rise in risky behaviors
The risky behavior of workers has increased this year: 49% of them say they have come close to an accident against 43% in 2021, according to a study carried out by the insurer MMA. “During the health crisis, there were fewer people on the roads so I think there is a relaxation of behavior”, says Claire Lechère, in charge of road risk prevention at MMA.
Employees also admit sometimes driving at excessive speed – 71% do not necessarily respect the limits – dozing or using their phone while driving, a bad habit recognized by 56% of working people.
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Faced with this heavy toll, the reaction of employers is long overdue. Indeed, only 18% of managers have implemented prevention actions in their companies. The fault is a lack of knowledge of the risks, according to Cécile Lechère: “Since we started doing studies in 2015, we have observed one constant: the risk remains largely underestimated. And we can imagine that with the Covid crisis, it was put aside a little. »
Large companies more concerned
The possible actions range from displaying posters in the company to establishing a charter of good conduct or organizing awareness-raising workshops. But in practice, although large companies are taking up the subject – 63% of companies with more than 250 employees organize prevention actions – this is not always the case for small companies.
“In a VSE or an SME, there is not necessarily a dedicated person to take the subject in hand, it is up to the manager who does not always have the time”, says Claire Lechere. Jean-Christian Meslet, director of a company that organizes these awareness workshops, confirms: “Smaller companies don’t care too much, at least until it happens to them. »
However, when they are organized, these workshops are rather popular with employees, assures Jean-Christian Meslet. “We go to the canteen during the meal breakexplains the director of the Road Safety Business Club of Toulouse. People feel concerned, they play the game. At the same time, it’s just documentation, there is no constraint. »
There is sometimes even a playful side, when employees are invited to take a seat on board a driving simulator to realize the sum of the possible distractions behind the wheel.