Road Traffic Accidents | Scope of Risk

The highest risk in terms of injury within any business environment, even high‐threat regions, often comes from road traffic accidents (RTAs). An RTA may result from poor driving standards, difficult road conditions, or as a secondary risk following an attack. It is important that policies and procedures reflect the risk of road travel relevant to a particular country, region, or threat environment. Some considerations that might be useful when considering the risk impacts of an RTA are:

§  What are the risks associated with the local road conditions?

§  What is the level of competence of local national drivers?

§  What threats are faced from hostile groups?

§  What threats are faced from security measures required (in terms of driving) to avoid hostile persons or group threats?

§  What are the local laws governing actions following an RTA?

§  How do local laws conflict with security risks from hostile persons or groups?

§  What is the impact of an RTA, especially if a local national is injured or killed?

§  What is the action following an RTA within a safe, medium‐risk, and high‐risk location?

§  What special training is required to mitigate driver risks?

Companies should also consider the serviceability of vehicles, as the degree of mechanical reliability and structural safety of locally leased or procured vehicles may render them unsuitable or unsafe for company use. Companies should also ensure that vehicles are properly equipped with breakdown equipment and emergency stores (e.g., medical kits, water, food, communications, spare tires, flashlights, and so on). A well‐trained local driver may mitigate some of the risks associated with RTAs, providing a liability buffer between the company and the event. Companies should also consider whether vehicles are suitable for the road conditions, and what emergency equipment should be included within each vehicle. Typical risk factors associated with driving might include:

§  Collision resulting in injuries and damages.

§  Overturned or damaged vehicle resulting in trapped occupants.

§  Arrest and liability following an accident.

§  Violent response by the community as a result of injured locals, livestock, or property.

§  Passengers being made vulnerable to criminal or insurgent threats.

§  Passengers being stranded due to inoperable vehicles.

§  Loss of high‐value or sensitive materials due to vehicle damage or abandonment.

§  Media or reputational issues connected to vehicle accident.

Hostile environment training should also acquaint personnel with vehicle security awareness. Where possible, the vehicle should look as if locally owned, the interior should also be clean so that suspicious items can be more easily identified, valuables should be locked in the trunk, no logos or markings should be visible, and vehicles should be parked within well‐lit and secured areas where possible. In some environments, vehicles should be checked for tampering, and in some countries fuels may be contaminated or watered down, causing engine failure.

In the event of an RTA, the incident manager should utilize the IMP data forms and guidelines to ensure that all facts are gathered quickly in order to assess the extent of the risks remaining to personnel, as well as their impacts. If required, liaison with legal representation should be conducted to offset liability, and persons should be collected and transported to medical attention or a safe location if appropriate. Adherence to local laws should be implemented, unless such courses of action place the personal safety of individuals at risk. Witness statements and reports should be collated and an investigation conducted. Compensation should be made where appropriate. Disciplinary action should be taken when blame lies with the driver, and repairs should be made to any damaged assets.

Hostage and Hijacking Situations | Scope of Risk

Hostage or hijack situations involve the unlawful detention of an individual or group. The distinction between a hostage and kidnapping situation is that the location of the victim is typically known during a hostage situation, and that hostage events are typically resolved more swiftly than a kidnapping event. Hijacking is typically the taking of hostages when in transit, either when individuals or groups are in land‐based vehicles, maritime vessels, or aircraft. Hijackers may be motivated by many of the same motives as kidnappers. Hostage situations may involve disgruntled employees, personal disputes, criminals, or in the most extreme cases activists, insurgents, or terror groups.

The nature of the operating environment will determine the approach used to manage a hostage or hijacking situation. Hostage negotiation is a specialist field, and company managers should not enter into discussions with the perpetrators. The following considerations should be applied to hostage situations:

§  What are the motives or agendas of the individual or group?

§  Does the individual or group have a history of undertaking hostage situations? If so, what were the outcomes?

§  Who has been taken hostage, and what is the victim's mental and medical condition?

§  Was the hostage targeted specifically or indiscriminately?

§  Has this been planned, or was it spontaneous or unintentional?

§  Are the perpetrators armed and violent?

§  Have the perpetrators made realistic or unrealistic demands?

§  How effective are local law enforcement and other agencies in dealing with hostage situations?

§  Are other personnel at risk?

§  Has the area been cleared and cordoned off?

Stages of Disasters

It is also useful for the user of the IMP to understand the typical stages of a disaster situation so as to place the risk implications into a chronological sequence and time context. The following provides simplified explanations as to the different stages of disaster situations:

§  Acute Phase.: The acute phase—the disaster itself—is the phase when most casualties occur. In natural disasters this may be short—for example, minutes (earthquakes) to hours or a few days (floods, hurricanes) or long and drawn out (famine, epidemic). A war is effectively a continuing disaster, but since fighting often shifts around an area, parts of the country may be in the immediate post‐disaster phase while others are still in the acute phase. The IMP typically addresses the effects of the acute phase.

§  Immediate Postdisaster Phase.: During this phase the high and immediate casualty rate is usually replaced by a steady but declining toll of injury and death. The main medical problems are generally the treatment of injuries. In earthquakes and hurricanes, the majority of those who are going to survive are found within 12 hours of the disaster. Most of those injured will have been treated in the first 24 to 32 hours. This period is typically when crisis response teams (CRTs) start to transition responsibilities from the incident response teams (IRTs).

§  Intermediate Phase.: In natural disasters (or individual events in a man‐made disaster, such as a massacre), this typically begins after three to five days, and tends to peak at 10 days. It is the period when the diseases brought about by acute exposure (to heat or cold), lack of clean water supplies, and poor sanitation appear, as people are often crowded together in temporary shelters. It is characterized by a rise in acute respiratory infection and diarrhea. Toward the end of this period, diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis become more common. Measles may also occur, and the lack of food and the ability to cook it may begin to seriously affect the more vulnerable employees, leading to higher malnutrition rates and decreased resistance to infection. The CRT will typically be fully in effect by the intermediate phase.

§  Late Phase.: This is usually the phase in which actual business or operational recovery begins. The timing of the start of this phase and its duration are extremely variable and depend on many factors, such as the health care infrastructure and what damage has been suffered; availability of shelter, clean water, and food; and the diseases endemic to the area. It is in this period that business recovery starts and CRTs start to demobilize and typically transition responsibilities back to project management. It is also the phase during which post incident reviews might be conducted and policies and plans amended to reflect any shortfalls or necessary changes in response or requirements.

This chapter is not intended to be inclusive of all risk types, nor how they might flow under different conditions, or how they might affect an organization within different environments, but is designed to illustrate some examples of risk natures that might form the educational or advisory section within a company's IMP. These should be succinct versions of those threats covered within a risk evaluation section (or risk register) within the Business Continuity Management Plan, but engineered to meet the needs of a wider user audience. Industry‐specific examples should be incorporated to reflect the unique requirements of a company or specific business activity.