Call for code of practice
Norwich Union, Britain's largest fleet insurer, has called on the Government to create a statutory code of practice for employers to help them with their at-work driving duty of care responsibilities...
10 Essential Elements
Management Policy
1. Assign a senior manager with specific responsibility for managing driving at work
2. Implement a health and safety policy, which incorporates a driving at work policy
3. Routinely undertake, record and act on the findings of risk assessments dealing with
all aspects of driving at work including driver safety, vehicle safety and journey planning
4. Ensure that every incident involving any vehicle driven on behalf of the company
is recorded and that collective information is regularly analysed and action taken to
reduce recurrence.
Driver Safety
5. Provide a driver's handbook that includes road safety guidance and sets out individual
driver responsibilities, in support of the company's policies and procedures, eg.
what to do in the event of an incident
6. Ensure that all employees driving on behalf of the company are initially vetted, inducted
and regularly assessed, to establish that they are properly licensed, competent,
suitably trained and medically fit to do so
Vehicle Safety
7. Ensure that when choosing vehicles to be used on behalf of the company, that they
are entirely suitable for their intended purpose and that utmost importance is placed on
safety features
8. Ensure that all vehicles used on behalf of the company are regularly inspected and
strictly maintained using the manufacturer's recommended service schedules (and if
applicable in accordance with Operator licence requirements)
Journey Planning
9. Check whether a road journey is really necessary - and encourage the use of alternative
modes of communication/transport where this is practical
10. Ensure that necessary journeys are scheduled to a realistic timetable and are
planned to take into account the essential need for adequate rest periods.
Source: Norwich Union
Despite improved guidance for employers published by a variety of organisations, including insurers, vehicle manufacturers and contract hire and leasing companies as well as the Health and Safety Executive, and an increased focus from the Department for Transport on work related road safety, Norwich Union says: "Most employers still have no explicit statutory responsibility to ensure even basic checks are undertaken before sending workers on the road.
Unaware
"Many employers remain unaware of their responsibilities and have not applied appropriate policies to improve business drivers' safety."
Research by Norwich Union reveals that 85% of vehicle fleets are failing to cover four of the most 'simple' risk management procedures - licence checking, new driver vetting, issuing a driver handbook and investigating crashes.
As a result, the company is sending to all new fleet insurance customers and existing clients when they renew cover, a paper detailing '10 Essential Elements' for a company to adopt if it is to properly manage occupational road risk (see panel above).
In a statement the insurer added: "Health and safety on the roads is rarely enforced by the HSE and employers are not required to report driving accidents as they would other workplace accidents. The protection of employees on the roads is a matter for road traffic law, enforced by the police and the courts. However, road traffic law does not address the issues which health and safety law addresses, such as the need for employers to have management systems, carry out risk assessments and put in place controls and monitoring."
Six years ago the Government inspired Work Related Road Safety Task Group recommended a more rigorous application of health and safety law to at-work driving in a bid to cut the third of all crashes estimated to involve someone at work at the time.
However, Norwich Union says: "There is little evidence that this has happened. There remains little motivation for employers or the enforcing authorities, to examine whether failures in management systems may have contributed towards a traffic accident."
Complacency
As a result of the complacency among employers the organisation concludes in a briefi ng paper: "The Government should look to introduce greater statutory control, possibly through a code of practice for employers, based on the current guidance provided by the HSE."
In saying that the work undertaken to date by both the DfT and the HSE does not go far enough and 'will not be properly implemented by employers without statutory authority', Norwich Union continues: "We believe a statutory approach for all companies with fl eets including company cars, even if privately-owned, stating the basic checks required, would lead to a greater awareness, more effective enforcement and most importantly, a reduction in fatalities and serious injuries for those who are driving for work."
What do you think? email the editor at ashley.martin32@btopenworld.com
Drivers demand stronger safety initiatives
Company car drivers want the Government to introduce stronger safety initiatives in the battle to reduce road deaths and injuries...
Almost all company car drivers (98%) claim to be safe drivers, yet a fifth feel unsafe on the UK's roads and half believe the nation's highways are less safe than they used to be, according to 2,029 British motorists, 213 of whom were company car drivers, surveyed for the 2007 RAC Report on Motoring 'Driving Safely'.
Over three quarters (85%) of motorists told researchers they want the Government to reduce road deaths by at least 10%, and more than half (55%) want to see a 50% reduction in the annual 3,000-plus death toll.
Drivers want to see:
- The public naming and shaming of drink drivers (68%)
- Increasing random breath testing (67%)
- A reduction in the drink drive limit to 50mg per 100 ml of blood (70%)
- 'Alco-locks' fited to cars to prevent ignition activation if the driver's blood alcohol content is too high (67%)
- The introduction of speed cameras that photograph drivers (47%)
In support of business motorists' concerns, RAC chiefs have met MPs and policymakers to campaign for the introduction of clear and specific goals focused on drink-driving, drugs driving, speeding, driving without legal documentation and long-term bans for causing death or serious injury.
The organisation also wants national target figures to be unpacked into specific localised targets that reflect regionalised concerns and priorities.
RAC managing director Debbie Hewitt said: "It is unacceptable that over 250,000 people are killed or injured on our roads each year. The time has come for the Government to get tough on making our roads safer."