Risk Compensation

1. Risk Compensation Learning Lite

2. What is it? • The Theory of Risk Compensation has been around since seat belts, simply put it suggests that a perception of safety or of less risk results in not understanding the risk is still there • People can have a false sense of security • It’s relevant to Behaviour Based Safety because we continuously weigh Time vs.. Risk when we make decisions • If we think we are safer because of safety precautions then we can make decisions that can still expose us to harm • Understanding how we manage risk and work to protect ourselves can remove this false sense of security and help us make better decisions

3. Applying the concept • It’s important to help people understand that the risk is not completely removed by PPE or by Walking Routes • The concept of risk compensation basically originated with driver protections • It suggests that now we have ABS breaking, Proximity Sensors, Air Bags and Crumple Zones drivers have a distorted sense of safety and security and drive in a way that can cause still cause accidents • If we put a spike in the middle of a steering wheel rather than an air bag – how slowly would you drive?

4. Some examples 1 • Think about the PPE we wear or the safe walking routes we use – if people don’t understand why we wear it or walk it (for example) they can presume they are completely safe • The difference may be that we have a close call or a near miss instead of an injury • The concept of Risk Compensation is both simple and plausible. Think about sports; the data shows the more "protection" is worn, the more violent the action • Hundreds of similar and equally plausible examples can be found • Data from the HSE shows that drivers behave more cautiously around cyclists that are not wearing their helmets than those that do!

5. Some examples 2 • Hundreds of similar and equally plausible examples can be found • Data from the HSE shows that drivers behave more cautiously around cyclists that are not wearing their helmets than those that do! • It has been demonstrated that improved parachute rip cords do not reduce the number of sky diving accidents, since it frequently leads to overconfidence and activating the chutes too late

6. What can we do? • Understanding that people constantly weigh Time vs. Risk and that part of this decision making is based on a perception of risk helps us; • Plan work • Look out for each other • Make better decisions

7. What can you do? • You can either explain why we do things in a particular way to help people understand the risk and also the mitigation in place • You can ask why too! • You can look at the close calls and near misses in your area and consider if one of the causes may have been a false sense of security and then re-brief your people to help them understand the risks of particular tasks • You can lead by example by bearing Risk Compensation and Time vs. Risk in mind when you make decisions • You can Walk Over and coach people positively – focusing on “what to do” rather than “what not to do”

8. What did we learn? • The Theory of Risk Compensation has been around since seat belts, simply put it suggests that a perception of safety or of less risk results in not understanding the risk is still there • It’s important to help people understand that the risk is not completely removed by PPE or by Walking Routes • Understanding that people constantly weigh Time vs.. Risk and that part of this decision making is based on a perception of risk • You can lead by example by bearing Risk Compensation and Time vs.. Risk in mind when you make decisions • You can Walk Over and coach people positively – focusing on “what to do” rather than “what not to do”