ICFM To hold operational road risk management masterclass

18 May 2017

Occupational road risk management is good business practice, but for too many employers it is a ‘tick box compliance exercise’ without a real focus on reducing costs, according to ICFM.

That’s why the organisation dedicated to advancing the profession of car and light commercial fleet management through a range of externally endorsed qualifications, is holding its second Masterclasses - free for both members and non-members - on operational road risk.

Department for Transport data reveals that road crashes in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available, cost the British economy an estimated £35.55 billion taking into account human costs, lost productivity, medical, ambulance and police costs, insurance and administration and property damage*.

What’s more, with around a third of road traffic collisions involving a person at work, the government-backed Driving for Better Business campaign , has calculated that based on a 10% return on sales, businesses would have to sell £60,000 worth of goods to cover the cost of a £3,000 crash.

ICFM director Peter Eldridge said, “Many fleets introduce measures such as driver licence checking as part of their work-related road safety programmes, but the real focus should be on reducing the cost of crashes.

“Complying with the law is important, but if directors and fleet decision-makers better understood the real-world cost to their businesses of crashes they would take significant action. Improving road safety is about reducing crashes and the associated cost savings will be reflected in company profits. It is easier for businesses to be pro-active in crash prevention than to sell many thousands of pounds worth of additional products.”

The ICFM Operational Road Risk Masterclass will be held on Tuesday, June 6th from 10am to 1pm at the International Centre, Telford. It will be held alongside the Emergency Fleet Exhibition and the National Association of Police Fleet Managers’ Conference, now in its 44th year and one of the largest emergency service fleet events in Europe.

To book a place at the seminar email the ICFM hub at administration@icfm.com.

Masterclass speakers will be:

• Kathy Halliday, partner at Veale Wasbrough Vizards, who has more than 20 years’ experience as an employment lawyer. She will focus on the ‘legal landscape’, the time-consuming cost to business of a police investigation following a road crash involving an employee and the fleet impact of data protection laws, including the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation due for implementation in May 2018.
• Andy Phillips, director, risk management at Hampshire-based Applied Driving Techniques. He has more than 20 years’ experience working in the driver management and fleet industry and will explain why implementing a safe driving culture and how to do it is critical to crash and therefore cost reduction for businesses.
• Tony Harbron, marketing director, at in-vehicle driver behaviour technology provider Ashwoods Lightfoot, will examine how managing driver behaviour in real-time - rather than taking reactive measures - is critical to maximising corporate financial savings.
• Peter Wood, key account manager, Michelin, will detail how tyres, the only part of a vehicle in contact with the road, play an intrinsic part in reducing crashes and thus improving road safety, while also delivering fuel savings.
• A director of ICFM, who will summarise the day and highlight what fleet best practice looks like.
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