Richmond leads the way with safety seminars
Businesses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as well as numerous suppliers and contractors to the local authority are being urged to drive their occupational road risk down...
The local authority was the first in London and one of the first in the country to organise an all-day at-work driving safety seminar with related workshops, which was attended by representatives from around 150 organisations.
Chris King, the council's principal safety education offi cer, said: "20 people are killed and 250 seriously injured on the UK's roads every week in the course of their work. Many businesses are not aware of those fi gures so as a responsible local authority we are aiming to raise the profile of the whole issue of at-work driving.
“We want employers within our area to implement a range of policies and procedures to help them reduce the risks faced by their employees on the road. In doing so, employers also stand to benefit from a range of associated cost saving benefits, including fewer working days lost and cheaper insurance premiums."
The seminar and workshops where delegates were able to quiz a range of occupational road safety experts on key issues were, said Mr King, just the first step on a lengthy journey that would see the council act as a catalyst for encouraging the uptake of casualty reduction measures.
Supported by funds from Transport for London the event, said Mr King, was also the launchpad for Richmond Borough reviewing its own occupational road safety measures for all of its employees, many of whom travel as part of their work. In addition, the council has a range of its own and contracted vehicle services from cleansing to meals on wheels and will be working with suppliers to help them implement their own at-working driving safety programmes.
Speakers at the seminars included representatives from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Mail, which has already implemented a range of at-work driving risk management measures.
"In the coming months we will take soundings from the businesses represented at the seminar and see whether they have put in place risk management techniques and, where they have, what differences they have made to their business operations," said Mr King.
"We will also work with businesses that need help and put them in contact with organisations that can deliver risk management solutions."
Councils 'must help more'
Local authorities should increase their focus on helping businesses in their areas to improve their occupational road risk management...
That was the message from Lee Davies, occupational road risk co-ordinator (Road Safety Unit) at Bury Metropolitan Borough, after more than 100 businesses in the North West of England - including major employers and small businesses with just a handful of fleet vehicles - attended 'a driving at work' seminar organised by the North West Area Group of the Institute of Road Safety Officers and the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association.
The event was held at the Bolton Arena and delegates left with a copy of LARSOA's Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award-winning CDRom 'Driving Your Business Risk Down' and managing occupational road risk guidance documents and sample policies courtesy of the Health and Safety Executive, Department for Transport and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Mr Davies said: "It was the first event of its kind that we have held and it was clear from the response that a lot of businesses need help in managing their occupational road risk. This is particularly true in the case of small businesses, where the effect of a road crash can be much greater than in a larger organisation where its impact can be better absorbed."
Evidence of the impact a fatality can have on a company was recalled by Sgt Martin Bishop, of Lancashire Constabulary, following the death of a van passenger in a crash. The employee died after being hit by a 'flying object' because the vehicle in which he was travelling was not equipped with a bulkhead to prevent equipment in the cargo area moving into the passenger area. The crash, almost 18 months ago, resulted in staff sickness levels increasing and staff morale dropping. The company involved has subsequently put in place a series of risk management initiatives.
Mr Davies said: "In six months' time we will contact all the companies who attended to see what practical risk management initiatives they have put in place. Many companies were aware that they had to do something, but were unsure of exactly what.
"We hope our seminar has opened their eyes to the actions they must take and I believe that road safety officers across the country should be taking the lead and targeting areas of concern, such as at-work driving, which are perhaps not traditional areas of focus."
Since Mr Davies started his job in the local authority three years ago, Bury has introduced a number of initiatives to manage the occupational road risk posed by their 1,000 registered fleet vehicle drivers and 1,500 essential car users who drive their own vehicles on council business.
They include: post-collision driver interviews; journey planning risk assessments; and attendance at a one-day 'Smart Drive' driver training course for employees identified as 'high risk' such as high mileage drivers and young drivers with 250 council employees having so far been trained. The course is also open to local businesses.
IAM fleet joins battle over youngsters
IAM Fleet has launched a new initiative to help reduce the number of young drivers killed on Britain's roads.
IAM's new half-day 'Young Driver Development Course' has been launched at a subsidised rate and enables companies to nominate any young drivers for training. IAM Fleet is offering the course in tandem with all existing and future half-day corporate course bookings.
The course, which costs £30 plus VAT per driver, is open to anyone under 25 who holds a full driving licence. The young drivers do not have to be employees of the client company, but they do have to provide a suitable vehicle.
Derek Camp, IAM Fleet UK business manager, said: "We all have a responsibility to help reduce the number of young lives either lost or ruined on our roads every day."
Safe Drive Stay Alive events planned
Hopes are high that more than 20,000 16-18 year olds from across the Thames Valley region will attend 'Safe Drive Stay Alive' events this year after 10,000 attended a film and theatre event, which explored the circumstances that can lead to a road crash and the consequences that follow. The campaign, whose sponsors included risk management specialist DriveTech (UK), was the result of a partnership effort between Thames Valley Police, three fire and rescue services, the ambulance service, hospital accident and emergency staff, road safety officers from councils across the region and the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership. It won the Prince Michael Safety Award.
Further details are available at www.safedrive.org.uk
Centrica drivers complete training
With newly-qualified drivers being in the high crash risk category, 560 newly-recruited Centrica apprentices in 2006 completed a young driver programme as part of their induction.
The programme includes a one-to-one driving assessment with guidance provided by a fleet approved driver trainer and has been developed specifically with young workers in mind. Centrica has 15 employees dedicated to the training and contracts a number of external suppliers to provide vehicle-related services to support it. The company, which operates a major occupational road risk management strategy (RoadSafe: winter 2006/7) sees an on-theroad driving assessment as essential for young trainees with little experience of driving.
Pay-as-you-drive for young drivers
Norwich Union has launched 'Pay As You Drive' insurance for drivers aged 18-23 with the aim of reducing young drivers' insurance premiums and the number of road accidents and casualties at night.
A pilot scheme saw the number of accidents among young drivers drop by 20%, proof, said the insurance giant, that such an insurance policy can save lives. In-car GPS devices allow Norwich Union to build the insurance policy around each individual young driver. Customers receive monthly bills based on car usage, including time of day, type of road, and mileage.