The SURVIVE Group is a UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 based consortium of private and public sector organisations concerned primarily with road safety. SURVIVE stands for Safe Use of Roadside Verges in Vehicular Emergencies

History and operations

The Survive Group was created by firms in the UK vehicle breakdown recovery industry in 1998 after the events following up to the deaths of six roadside operators working with car breakdowns. The industry was joined soon thereafter by the Highways Agency and the Association of Chief Police Officers in what become known as The Survive Group.
The member organisations believe that it is necessary to create public awareness about safety in breakdown conditions on the hard shoulder for both drivers and workers, and that creating a public awareness organisation would best serve this purpose.

Working Groups

The Survive Group is composed of the Survive Executive and 4 Working Groups. The Survive Executive is the body that sets strategic direction for the consortium.

Working Group 1

This group is concerned primarily with protocols and best practices on the road. Members include such prominent organisations as the Association of Chief Police Officers, the AA and RAC. This working group lays emphasis on learning from accidents and near-misses. Data is shared across the group in order to promulgate instructions and operating standards. A Best Practices Guidelines document is in progress and will be published on the Survive Group’s website.

Working Group 2

The second working group deals with industry standards and their implementation. A major achievement of this working group has been the PAS 43:2008 document, which provides guidelines for attending car breakdowns.

Working Group 3

The third working group deals with roadside operator conspicuity and visibility. Poor visibility can be a safety hazard in the work environment, and therefore this working group makes the necessary recommendations to make roadside operators more visible and safe.
Key issues addressed by the Group include traffic officers’ use of safety red lights and the introduction of more stable arrow signs that are able to withstand extreme weather conditions.

Working Group 4

The fourth working group manages communications between Survive Group’s working groups as well as between the organisation, its stakeholders and the general public.

Members Organisations

The Survive Group is composed of the following organisations. These include private and public sector organisations.

• Association of Chief Police Officers
• The Automobile Association
  The Automobile Association
  The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
  
   
• Green Flag
  Green Flag
  Green Flag is a roadside rescue company based in the UK. It was formed in 1971 as the National Breakdown Recovery Club and operated under this name under the ownership of National Car Parks until 1994, when it was renamed Green Flag as a symbolic brand name...
  
  
• Highways Agency
  Highways Agency
  The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
  
  
• RAC Motoring Services
  RAC plc
  RAC Limited is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile...
  
  
• Road Haulage Association
  Road Haulage Association
  The Road Haulage Association Ltd is a UK trade association which represents members of the road haulage industry, together with allied businesses. The RHA has been in continuous existence for more than fifty years...
  
   – Rescue Recovery Group
• Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
• Association of British Certification Bodies
• Association of British Insurers
• Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators
• AXA Assistance
• Britannia Rescue
• Europe-Assistance Holdings Limited
• Habilis Health and Safety Solutions Limited
• Institute of Vehicle Recovery
• Mondial UK
• National Tyre Distributors Association
• Recovery Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers Association
• Retail Motor Industry Federation
• Road Maintenance Contractors
• Home Office Scientific Development Branch
• Transport Research Laboratory