Incident Management Guidelines
Road traffic accidents can be relatively mundane events in some environments, or quickly escalate into significant events in others. Local laws and environmental conditions can have a significant impact on how injured personnel are managed and moved to safety, as well as the repercussions if local persons are injured or local materials are damaged. Road traffic accidents that would typically not be considered serious in Western countries can lead to loss of life or long‐term imprisonment in others. Staff should be aware of any peculiar laws and requirements of the country they are operating in, as well as any safety precautions and areas in which they should be self‐reliant in order to effectively deal with an accident.
In the event of a road traffic accident occurring, the following steps should be taken:
- Notify the Incident Management and Crisis Response Teams using the SAD CHALETS system.
- Determine the extent of injuries of those involved (if any).
- Find out where injured parties were taken and whether the injuries warranted hospitalization.
- Determine if local authorities or personnel are involved, and if the occupants of the vehicle are being charged with a crime.
- Establish the location and status of company vehicle, and arrange for the retrieval of the vehicle and any company property if it is immobile.
- Notify the embassy if company staff have been arrested or detained.
- Notify the embassy if local nationals have been injured or killed.
- Begin to record information within the record of events log.
- Consider a compensation plan if the cause of the accident resulted from employee error.
- Liaise with local police authorities to seek their support (if appropriate).
- Be sure to completely and accurately fill out the Driver Accident Report Form (see Data Capture Reports section).
- Forward all information through the correct communication channels, and update where necessary.
- Conduct an IMP Risk Assessment if the incident is serious, with significant implications.
