Road transport safety in Northern Norway: how buyers of road transport services can contribute to a road transport with fewer accidents and near-misses

This paper contributes to filling a knowledge gap by presenting new research within the practical field of road transport. It takes the buyers of road transport services as its point of entry and seeks to answer the follow question: How can buyers of road transport services contribute to safe road transport in northern Norway? A qualitative approach was selected for this study, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with six different buyers of road transport services. By using a modified version of The Pentagon Model, different aspects were analyzed in order to identify organizational characteristics and qualities that will improve the possibility for buyers of road transport to contribute to a safer road transport in Northern Norway and thereby contribute to fewer accidents and near-misses. The following characteristics and qualities were identified: 1) the importance of developing a detailed formal contract with the provider of road transport; 2) being aware of the possibilities with new technologies; 3) understanding that the decision criteria for ordering transport can influence road transport safety; 4) seeing the importance of good communication with both the transport organization and the authorities; 5) recognizing that knowledge of and trust in a transport organization is important but could also affect judgement regarding revisions and controls. This study suggests that buyers of road transport services can contribute to a safer road transport in northern Norway by emphasizing these five characteristics and qualities.