Safety climate and the distracted driving experiences of truck drivers
Corresponding Author
David I. Swedler PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Chicago, Illinois
Correspondence to: David I Swedler, PhD, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health 2121 W Taylor St SHPW Rm 556 Chicago, IL 60612. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKeshia M. Pollack PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Search for more papers by this authorJacqueline Agnew PhD
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David I. Swedler PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Chicago, Illinois
Correspondence to: David I Swedler, PhD, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health 2121 W Taylor St SHPW Rm 556 Chicago, IL 60612. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKeshia M. Pollack PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Search for more papers by this authorJacqueline Agnew PhD
Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
For truck drivers, distracted driving is a workplace behavior that increases occupational injury risk. We propose safety climate as an appropriate lens through which researchers can examine occupational distracted driving.
Methods
Using a mixed methods study design, we surveyed truck drivers using the Safety Climate Questionnaire (SCQ) complemented by semi-structured interviews of experts on distracted driving and truck safety. Safety climate was assessed by using the entire SCQ as an overall climate score, followed by factor analysis that identified the following safety climate factors: Communications and Procedures; Management Commitment; and Work Pressure.
Results
In multivariate regression, the overall safety climate scale was associated with having ever experienced a crash and/or distraction-involved swerving. Interview participants described how these SCQ constructs could affect occupational distracted driving.
Conclusion
To reduce distraction-related crashes in their organizations, management can adhere to safe policies and procedures, invest in engineering controls, and develop safer communication procedures. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:746–755, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Supporting Information
Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site.
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| ajim22473-sup-0001-SupData-S1.docx190.7 KB |
Supporting Information Fig S1: Scree plot with parallel analysis for safety climate questionnaire principal component analysis (PCA). Supporting Information Table S1: Pattern matrix for three factors for the SCQ with Cronbach's alphas. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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