A mixed-methods approach to examining safety climate among truck drivers

The purpose of the current study was to use a mixed-methods approach to understanding safety climate and the strategies to improve safety climate among truck drivers. Using both survey (N = 7246) and interview (N = 18) responses provided by truck drivers regarding key safety climate items, the current study identified a number of positive and negative policies, procedures and practices that truck drivers perceived as the determinants of whether their organizations are committed to the promotion of safety at work. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted to identify discrimination parameters indicating which safety climate items were most sensitive to the safety climate level. Discriminative items were identified at both the organization and group levels which can be used to evaluate safety climate and differentiate a high versus low safety climate across groups and organizations in the trucking industry. Based on our results, we also offer safety researchers and practitioners some recommendations on what and/or how to intervene with and promote organizational safety climate in the trucking industry.