Tough rules needed for young drivers
Organisations that don't have tough rules governing the eligibility of newly-qualified and young drivers to take to the wheel on company business could inadvertently be putting lives at risk, according to risk management and fleet software expert Jaama...
Jason Francis: warns that failure to impose tough rules on young drivers could result in more lives at risk
An online Jaama survey of fleet decision-makers revealed that 89% of companies do have a minimum age at which employees can drive on company business. Almost three-quarters of those businesses said the minimum age was 21 (73%) with the remainder saying it was 25 years of age.
While those figures show that the majority of companies are taking some responsibility for protecting young drivers from the risks posed by driving, Jaama says all companies should have a minimum age policy. Additionally, managing director Jason Francis says the minimum age policy should also be linked to the type of car young and new qualified drivers are allowed to drive and their skills behind the wheel should be put to the test with a familiarisation drive under the watchful eye of the fleet manager.
"The driver of any car can potentially become a killer. However, companies can try and limit the risks by, for example, not allowing young and newly qualified drivers to take to the wheel of vehicles above a prescribed brake horsepower (bhp) and also ensuring they are familiar with the vehicle," he said.
"Many people pass their driving test in superminis with relatively low performance.
"These cars can, in many cases, be completely different in size and performance to a company provided vehicle. As part of corporate duty of care policies and procedures, fleet decision-makers should ensure staff skill levels are of a sufficient calibre to drive what will probably be a totally unfamiliar car."
Invariably driving skills improve with experience but the Jaama survey revealed that only 22% of companies insist on a minimum time period between an employee passing their driving test and driving on company business with a massive 78% of respondents saying that a full driving licence was a sufficient qualification.
Of the less than a quarter of companies that enforced a minimum level of driving experience, the majority prescribed two years (70%) with 20% saying three years and 10% saying they were happy for an employee to drive on company business with 12 months on road experience.
However, with 20% of all drivers crashing within their first year on the road, a third of male drivers aged between 17 and 20 years crashing in the first two years after passing their test, one in three drivers who die on UK roads being under 25 and an 18-year old driver more than three times as likely to be involved a crash as a 48 year old driver, Jaama says all companies should ensure employees have at least two years driving experience before taking to the road.
Mr Francis said: "Companies must be mindful of the negative publicity that a crash involving a young or inexperienced driver could have on their business. The policy measures we are advocating should also apply to staff driving their own cars on business."