Engaging worksite bystanders to reduce risky driving

Many workplace fatalities in both the United States and Canada involve motor vehicles. In order to address these high percentages of fatalities, a growing trend of research addressing workplace efforts to reduce motor vehicle incidents has emerged. In this study, a survey of 399 workers from 19 worksites among six different organizations (three for-profit businesses, two private utilities, and two public agencies or forms of government) in Ontario, Canada revealed that most employees agreed they should try and prevent coworkers from engaging in six different risky driving behaviors: not wearing a seat belt, texting while driving, using a cell phone while driving, aggressive driving or speeding, fatigued driving, and driving after drinking alcohol. The Positive Community Norms framework (Linkenbach, Keller, Otto, Swinford, & Ward, 2012) was utilized to inform an intervention using the theory of planned behavior to predict bystander engagement by workers to prevent these six risky driving behaviors. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the beliefs most associated with intervening intentions and behaviors. The study revealed that an individual's perception of the norm regarding intention to intervene was most predictive of the individual's own self-reported intention to intervene. Recommendations for interventions and further research are presented.