Driving and the Work Place
New research shows lack of understanding of road rules by fleet drivers - Institute of Road Safety Officers December 2004
A survey was undertaken by Interactive Driving Systems with the support of Break, the Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers and the University of Huddersfield found that between 50 and 74% of drivers questioned do not have even the most basic knowledge of the Highway Code.
The survey also showed that parents driving their children to school had not looked at the Highway Code in over 10 years. This was also the position for high mileage drivers. Of the 26,000 fleet drivers recently risk assessed using IDS online RoadRisk tool 49% did not fully understand the road rules or the road signs placed to help them. If they were involved in an accident it is not known whether or not if they would know if they were at fault or not.
It has been estimated that up to a third of all road traffic accidents involve somebody who is at work at the time. This may account for over 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week.
HSE Guidelines state that "health and safety law applies to on the road work activities as to all work activities and the risks should be effectively managed within a health and safety system".
Therefore employers must assess the risks involved in their staff's use of the road for work and put in place all 'reasonable practicable' measures to manage those risks.
This guidance applies to any employer, manager or supervisor with staff who drive, or ride a motorcycle or bicycle at work, and in particular those with responsibility for fleet management.
Within the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are required to ensure, so far as possible, the health and safety of all employees whilst at work. There is also a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by work-related driving activities.
Are there benefits of managing work related road safety? The true costs of accidents to companies are nearly always higher than just the cost of repairs and insurance claims.
Case studies and research have shown that there are many benefits from managing work related road safety and reducing crashes.
Driving is the most dangerous work activity that most people do. Company car drivers often exceed speed limits in order to get to appointments on time. They are less likely to view speeding as risky and more likely to think that being on time is more important. Company drivers and people who drive high annual mileages for work are up to 50% more likely to crash than private motorists.
If an employee is involved in a crash as a result of:
- Unfitness
- Fatigue through working long hours
- Speeding to meet impossibly tight deadlines
- Driving an unroadworthy vehicle or through lack of training
The police, with other authorities could prosecute the employer under Health and Safety law.
Occupational road crashes can prove very costly not only through prosecution but also through:
- Loss of wages
- Lost orders and output
- Administrative costs
- Legal fees and costs incurred due to the interruption of business
Companies need to adopt procedures which reduce risk to employees from occupational road risk and therefore affect the potential resulting costs.
When assessing some factors to be considered may be:
- The journey - types of roads, distance, reasonable time allowance for breaks
- The vehicle - well maintained, safety features, distractions e.g. mobile phones
- The drivers age, experience, health, stress and accident history etc.
It has been proven that driver training can reduce blameworthy crashes by between 30 and 70% in the first two years.
As an employer what can we do to raise awareness to safe driving whilst at work?
Are all staff aware of the companies policies regarding safe driving?
If employing someone whose role includes driving during company time, consideration should be given to raising awareness to health and safety policies within the induction programme.
Items which could be covered may be:
- The increased dangers caused by driving at inappropriate speed
- The need to allow sufficient time to complete the journey
- The things that tempt or pressurise drivers to speed
- The legal and financial implications of work based accidents
- Benefits to be gained from driving at the appropriate speed
- Emphasise the need for employees to co operate in carrying out the policy
- Employees involved in accidents or speeding offences must report these to their employer
- Employers obligation to review employees driving licences for any offences - review annually - Performance Development Review process
Young drivers employed particularly by local authorities who are within the 17 - 24 age group fall into the 'high risk category' of accident involvement. Most authorities offer 'in house' driving awareness courses. Perhaps this is something which could be considered for this age group irrespective of when they passed their driving test. In addition, consideration should be given as to their eligibility for hiring a lease car from the authority. Particularly if they wish to opt for a 'high powered vehicle'.
Employers who fail to manage occupational road risk could face possible fines, and in certain cases, imprisonment.
Any business driver whose job specification includes any form of driving, i.e. sales representatives, service engineers etc would benefit from attending a Business Driver Workshop.
This course is managed by dedicated road safety professionals who can help to develop and introduce risk management practices for businesses. Covered in a typical workshop would be:
The course is particularly effective for high mileage company car drivers and have been adopted by a number of local authorities.
Driving tuition can be adapted to suit individual business needs. A comprehensive driving assessment report is issued at the end of the training programme giving immediate feedback on each participant's performance.
The best chance of achieving a lasting reduction in casualties will only be achieved through continuing co-ordinated programmes within road safety education, training, publicity and awareness.
The DTLR recommends that based on their risk assessment, employers should include measures to manage at-work road safety within their existing health and safety management system. Employees should co operate with their employer to enable them to comply with their statutory duties; and they should take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others affected by their actions.
A recent announcement from the Department for Transport indicates that new rules to ensure that commercial drivers do not work too many hours were presented to Parliament. The improvements to the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 will further improve safety on our roads and help to make the road transport industry more attractive to new recruits.
New regulations came into force April 2005 and will apply to commercial drivers and crews of heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles.
Last Modified:
23/04/2008 09:50:00
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