Vero and the Monash University Accident Research Centre will investigate how workplace practices and cultures affect work-related traffic injuries.

The research aims to identify which workplace behaviours are most effective in promoting safe driving and preventing road injuries, the leading cause of work-related deaths.

Suncorp Commercial Insurance EGM Commercial Portfolio and Underwriting Management Darren O’Connell says 27% of work vehicles are involved in crashes each year.

Apart from the impact on individuals and families, there can be a significant flow-on to revenue from lost productivity, compensation claims and higher insurance.

“It is clear there is still a fair amount of room for improvement when it comes to the risk management approaches applied to some fleet and vehicles operations,” Mr O’Connell said.

He says one Vero customer that focused on reducing risk managed to cut claims from 26 in 2007/08 to 14 in 2011/12, reducing their claims cost by 73%.

The project’s Chief Investigator, Sharon Newnam, says the study will identify driver, supervisor and organisational factors associated with accidents.

“It will also establish, for the first time, an occupational translation taskforce to ensure the research findings are adopted into workplace practice and thereby directly contribute to reductions in work-related road traffic injury.”