Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Driver First Assist launches new safety survey
Cookies on Businesscar

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time

BusinessCar magazine website email Awards mobile

The start point for the best source of fleet information

Driver First Assist launches new safety survey

Date: 28 November 2014   |   Author:

Driver First Assist (DFA), a not-for-profit road safety initiative, is conducting a survey to learn more about the effect road traffic collisions can have on business car drivers. 

The survey is now live, https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/driverfirst

DFA will use the results to better understand how it can help improve road safety in the UK.

The DFA revealed in August that 50% of fleet drivers would like post-accident training and 84% think more drivers should be trained in the skills needed to deal with the aftermath of a road traffic collision, according to its previous survey, which was also in association with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Of the 2198 respondents to the previous survey, 50% said they would like to participate in such training themselves, and 34% were interested in finding out more.

The majority of people, 79%, said that they would stop and help if they arrived at a road traffic collision before the emergency services, and 44% have done so already, with a further 10% saying they would if they had received the correct training.

When asked specifically about first aid, 75% would consider stopping to give medical assistance to someone who was injured.

Of the respondents:

  • A quarter answered that although they hadn't received any training they still felt they knew enough to make a difference and save someone's life
  • Half of respondents had received some level of training and felt they would be confident enough to put in into practice
  • 18% answered that they wouldn't get involved in first aid because they'd be afraid of not knowing what to do or doing the wrong thing.

 The survey went on to explore whether people's hypothetical responses to scenarios matched up with best practice on emergency responses and findings here were mixed.

Reassuringly, 78% of the respondents knew that finding a safe place to stop and assess the scene was the most important first step, before dialling 999 or ensuring all those involved are grouped together. Similarly 73% knew that the only time they should park their vehicle to protect a collision was to protect life.

However, there were some myths too, with 39% of respondents believing that the emergency services would be able to trace their mobile using GPS to pinpoint their geographical locations, which isn't the case.

And despite a majority suggesting they would try and attempt first aid at the scene, 60% thought that patient movement was not enough to indicate that their heart is beating, which is in fact true.

DFA founder David Higginbottom said: "The fact that nearly half of drivers have come across the scene of a collision before the emergency services arrive clearly demonstrates the potential the motoring public has to help, and individuals' responses to the survey show how willing they would be to do so.

"A person will die from a blocked airway within four minutes, but the target ambulance response time is twice that. Having a network of volunteers on the road, trained in the skills needed to correctly report a crash to the emergency services, or even to deliver life-saving first aid, has the potential to reduce road deaths by up to 46%."



Share


Subscribe