On the occasion of the Days of road safety at work, the insurer MMA revealed its annual survey on professional road risk in companies.
For the insurer, the Ifop institute surveyed a sample of 251 business leaders, representative of French companies with 1 to 1,000 employees (TPE, SME, ETI), by telephone from March 31 to April 11, 2022. In parallel , he interviewed a sample of 501 people making business trips at least once a month via an online questionnaire, from April 1 to 13, 2022.
Recall that in 2020, 356 people died of a work-related road accident, according to figures from Onisr. Despite a 12% drop compared to 2019, road accidents remain the leading cause of death at work, as they accounted for 31% of fatal accidents in 2020.
However, according to the MMA study, only 17% of managers and 33% of workers making professional trips identify occupational road risk as the leading cause of death at work, i.e. + 1 point compared to the 2021 edition. However, this lack of knowledge of the road risk remains constant, as shown by the studies carried out by MMA since 2015.
From assets to risky behaviors…
The road risk remains in fact very real. In fact, 42% of working people have to drive as part of their work, i.e. a stable proportion since 2015. More specifically, 81% use their vehicle at least once a week, including 50% of them at least once a week. times a day.
Among managers, 6% observed that their employees use their personal vehicle more to make their home-to-work journey, as already shown by a study by the rental company Enterprise. However, 22% of working people say they use their vehicle less than before the start of the crisis (-10 points compared to 2021). Conversely, 11% use it more than before the crisis (-1 point).
While driving, 82% of employees claim to adopt dangerous attitudes. In fact, 71% say they do not always respect speed limits, 56% use their phone while driving, 32% are drowsy, 28% do not respect the priority rules and 18% drive after having consumed more than two glasses of alcohol. alcohol.
Since the introduction of new speed limits of 30 km/h in town or 80 km/h on certain departmental roads, 56% admit that it happens more often that they do not respect these limits for their professional journeys.
… explaining the occurrence of accidents
Within the study, 49% of drivers say they have come close to an accident (+ 6 points compared to 2021) and 19% say they have already had one (+ 1 point). In general, the accident is attributable to lack of attention (35%) (- 12 points), refusal of priority or failure to respect a stop sign or a traffic light (25%, + 7 points) , or at excessive speed (12%, +2 points).
In addition, 42% of working people say they have received a fine (+4 points) and 36% say they have lost points on their license (+7 points). Penalties awarded after speeding for respectively 69% of them (+ 13 points compared to April 2021) and 75% of them (+ 10 points).
Misinformed leaders…
Among managers, 33% still do not know that they may be held liable in the event of an accident involving an employee on a journey made as part of their professional activity. And 57% that they can be also responsible in the case of a home-work journey.
“The MMA study shows that the importance of road risk remains underestimated, both by business leaders and by employees. It is therefore essential to continue awareness-raising efforts aimed at companies. 41% of VSE, SME and ETI managers also feel that they are insufficiently informed about the issues and rules relating to road risk in business. This is why we have launched a campaign to prevent this risk among managers and provide them with free awareness tools for their employees,” says Cécile Lechère, in charge of road risk prevention at MMA.
This approach by the insurer MMA is part of the Days of road safety at work which took place from May 9 to 13, 2022. The opportunity for companies such as Orange and Socotec to highlight their actions of prevention.
… and too few preventive actions…
The MMA study also highlights that only 18% of managers have implemented road risk prevention actions in their company. And, that 6% have planned a road risk awareness action for 2022.
More specifically, prevention actions remain in the minority in VSEs with less than 10 employees (15%). On the other hand, they are in the majority in companies with more than 250 employees (63%). Similarly, only 5% to 11% of companies with less than 250 employees have planned a road risk prevention action for 2022, compared to 44% of companies with more than 250 employees.
Like the mutual organization Mutualia, only 44% of managers indicate that they have mentioned road risk in the company’s single document, which is nevertheless mandatory. The mention of road risk in this single document also remains more widespread in companies with more than 250 employees (83%) than in those with less than 250 employees (50%).
For their part, 23% of working people say that their company has implemented “regular” prevention actions (- 6 points compared to 2015), while 36% admit that they are “rare” and 41% “non-existent”. “. According to the study, a quarter of working people have already taken part in road risk awareness training, a stable proportion since 2015.
… yet considered a priority
However, working people would like their companies to do more in terms of road safety. In fact, they count on their employer to: organize a road safety day (31%), disseminate road risk awareness messages (25%) or train in these risks (25%), establish a “good practices” behind the wheel (23%), reduce the number of business trips (22%), or provide educational tools on driving (18%).
In terms of priority, executives are most concerned about: drink-driving (66%), monitoring drug use (46%), distractors (46%), speeding (22%), wearing a seat belt (13%) and managing fatigue at the wheel.
Prioritize telework and soft mobility
Among the priorities to be put in place by the next government to combat road risk, 36% of working people believe that the development of teleworking is a solution to combat road risk. In addition, 35% think that alternative transport solutions to the car should be put in place, 34% that it is necessary to fight effectively against the consumption of alcohol while driving, 32% that it is necessary to fight against driving distractors , 27% that it is necessary to guarantee the right to disconnect for employees during their professional journeys and 9% that it is necessary to further limit the speed of circulation.
For their part, 23% of managers say they have encouraged their employees to reduce their professional journeys by car or motorized two-wheeler. In addition, 13% of managers have implemented solutions to promote the use of soft mobility such as bicycles or electric scooters. A finding confirmed by 20% of active workers.
