Building the Road Safety Profession in the Public Sector Special Report 289 (2007) / Chapter Skim
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4 Acquiring Road Safety Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
4 Acquiring Road Safety Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Pages 57-72
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From page 57... ...
A distinction is made between competencies applying to full-time road safety professionals and those that may apply to others in the publicsector workforce who influence safety. A survey of course offerings by university engineering and public health programs was conducted as part of NCHRP Research Results Digest 302.
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From page 58... ...
CORE COMPETENCIES OF THE ROAD SAFETY PROFESSIONAL Core competency statements that describe the baseline body of knowledge and skills required for a particular profession have been developed in such diverse fields as library sciences, teaching, psychiatry, emergency management, and public health. These statements have multiple purposes: they can help workers plan their professional development, guide educators and trainers in designing curricula and course content, and help employers establish job descriptions and performance measures for their workers.
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From page 59... ...
As explained in Research Results Digest 302, mastery of the knowledge and skills covered in all five competencies is desirable for the full-time road safety professional and would presumably require many years of study and career development to achieve. Training in the core competencies, however, is also advantageous to others who are not full-time road safety professionals but whose work decisions and actions affect safety.
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The safety professional should be able to explain the roles of these disciplines in safety management (Competency 1a)
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All road safety professionals should understand the importance of collaboration among organizations and the barriers that can hinder collaboration. They should know the major legislation, historical figures, and stakeholder groups affecting safety goals, responsibilities, and investment decisions.
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. Management Road safety professionals in management posi tions should be able to draw conclusions and establish plans and priorities on the basis safety research, analyses, and evaluations.
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From page 63... ...
is under way that is seeking to develop model curricula based on the core competency framework in Research Results Digest 302. CORE COMPETENCIES IN ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOOLS The authors of Digest 302 surveyed 117 university engineering and 34 university public health programs to determine whether content pertaining to the core competencies is included in courses and curricula.
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From page 64... ...
Engineering and public health schools are one source of training. Continuing education programs, short courses, and on-the-job learning are among the most common means.
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From page 65... ...
TSI is the largest training program for new and mid-career safety professionals. TSI courses cover many areas of responsibility for safety professionals such as the enforcement of impaired driving laws; design and management of road safety programs; delivery of emergency medical services; and public information programs to encourage the use of safety belts, child safety seats, and motorcycle helmets.
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From page 66... ...
The Governors Highway Safety Association offers a course for new safety representatives and their senior staff on program development, implementation, evaluation, and administration of the 402 program. However, the course is program-specific and not aimed at developing road safety expertise.
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From page 67... ...
For the most part, the training has no theoretical underpinning. There is little assurance that the programs provide highway safety professionals with the knowledge and skills outlined in the core competencies.
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UMTRI's road safety research model, concentrating on driver and vehicle research, proved to be sustainable and has not included instructional programs targeted to the safety workforce. The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center was established by the state legislature in the same year, and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute was established 3 years later.
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From page 69... ...
Government-funded research was accompanied by a growing body of safety research from the private sector, including work by the insurance industry and automobile makers on topics such as vehicle crashworthiness, driver performance, and biomechanics. One gauge of the increased attention to safety in highway research is the historical index of publications by the Transportation Research Board (TRB)
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The insights and factual knowledge gained from research are essential in informing the safety professional and providing the factual basis for the guidebooks, standards, and other reference materials used in safety management. How effective this research has been in attracting students to the safety profession; generating sciencebased facts; and influencing the policies, guidebooks, and other reference materials commonly used by safety professionals is unclear.
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From page 71... ...
SUMMARY The baseline safety-related knowledge and skills required by road safety professionals have recently been outlined in a statement of core competencies. The statement should prove helpful to workers planning their professional development, educators and trainers designing curricula and course content, and employers establishing job descriptions and performance assessments.
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From page 72... ...
2006. NCHRP Research Results Digest 302: Core Competencies for Highway Safety Professionals.
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