News in brief
CRASHES and insurance claims among young drivers are a bigger risk than ever for companies, says Norwich Union, which suggests firms have a minimum driving age requirement of 25. The warning comes following research conducted by the insurer that crash rates among young drivers are worsening and that claims by drivers under the age of 23 have increased by more than 300% in the last five years. Meanwhile claims among drivers over 23 fell by 10% during the same time period. Norwich Union’s motor risk manager, Bill Pownall, said: “Businesses should consider the risks that young drivers pose on a firm’s duty of care. They should consider introducing a minimum driving age of 25 should the driver fail to demonstrate an appropriate level of competence when driving or failing to drive safely following a thorough risk assessment. Businesses should also apply some common sense when allocating vehicles to young and inexperienced drivers, considering the engine size along with the brake horsepower.”
ROADSAFE director Adrian Walsh and ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme consultant Michael Parish are taking part in a major conference in Manchester on May 19 and 20. Called ‘Practical Strategies for Effective Road Safety & Standards’, the Renaissance Hotel event is being organised by IQPC (International Quality and Productivity Center), which conferences, events and training programmes worldwide. Further details and a full list of speakers is available a http://www.iqp.com/UK/roadsafety or telephone 0207 368 9300.
THE United Nations General Assembly was due to debate global road safety on March 31 in New York. Supporters of the ‘Make Roads Safe’ campaign hope the debate will result in the first ever global ministerial meeting on road safety in 2009. Thousands of people in Britain and across the world have signed the ‘Make Roads Safe’ petition that calls for a UN conference to begin to tackle the rising toll of road deaths and injuries worldwide – 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million injured. UN member governments were due to decide on the proposal in the UN debate. The petition calls for: a 10-year, global action plan to improve road safety in developing countries; and the World Bank and other multilateral and bilateral donors to ensure that at least 10% of development budgets for roads is dedicated to road safety measures (RoadSafe: autumn/winter 2007).
SAFETY is in the DNA of Thatcham, The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, which is why the driving skills and behind-the-wheel attitude of the organisation’s 130 car-driving staff is now being assessed. Employees – company car drivers, those who drive their own cars on business and pool car drivers – are all completing a comprehensive at-work driving safety programme developed by DriveTech. Samantha Webb, HR manager at Thatcham, said: “As a responsible employer in the automotive sector, and in line with our recently introduced corporate social responsibility policy, Thatcham’s motivation in approaching DriveTech was primarily about doing as much as possible to safeguard our employees.”