Managing Occupational Road Risk

To manage the at work road risk of employees requires various methods.

It is not sufficient simply to have a policy, there needs to be both management and employee practices and procedures in place, there also needs to be a safety culture to ensure that policies are more than just a piece of paper.

There needs to be a Comprehensive Road Risk Policy

This policy can be part of the companies Health & Safety Policy, it should be approved by the company at director level.

The policy should include the use of all vehicles in connection with work, including anyone using their own vehicle, and any temporary workers.

Driving Licences

The policy should include a system for the checking of driving licences, these checks initially would provide information about which vehicles each person was licenced to drive.

Checks should then be carried out on a regular basis, in order to be aware of any points on the licence, any driving bans, or any medical restrictions.

There should also be a requirement for staff to report any changes to their licence entitlement or any convictions.

There should also be a requirement for staff to report any medical conditions that may affect their entitlement to drive.

Documents and Maintenance

A system needs to be in place to ensure that all company vehicles are taxed, insured, have an MOT certificate where applicable, and are correctly serviced and maintained.

The system should not only include routine servicing at a garage, but also a system of daily or weekly routine forecourt type checks, e.g. Fluid levels, tyre condition, etc.

Employees Own Vehicles

When a private car is used for business purposes there needs to be a system in place to check that it is taxed, insured for business use, has a valid MOT certificate where applicable, and is correctly serviced and maintained.

Who is Driving?

Records need to be kept of who was driving which vehicle at any given time, failure to keep these records could result in a prosecution for not disclosing the drivers details when an offence has been committed, e.g. Speeding.

Mobile Phones

It is an offence to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving.

It is also an offence to cause or permit someone to use a handheld mobile phone whilst driving.

So it could be possible for the manager in the office phoning a colleague that was driving to be committing an offence!

The use of hands free mobile phones can also be a distraction, a telephone conversation is not the same as a conversation with someone else sitting next to you in the car, who can see when you are concentrating more on a particular road situation.

There should be a policy on the use of mobile phones, whether it is a total ban on their use whilst driving, to answer briefly and arrange to call back, or for drivers to use their own judgement , but be made aware of the risks, are matters for each company to decide on.

Whatever the policy, staff in the office need to be aware of it as well as drivers.

Journeys

Is the journey necessary?

Can a phone call, a video conference, or some other means of communication make the journey unnecessary?

Is the journey best made by road?

Can vehicles and therefore the driving be shared?

How long is the working day?

Is it appropriate to have a long drive, followed by a full day of work, and then a long drive home?

Is an overnight stop more appropriate?

Is the expectation of travelling time realistic?

Is a delivery driver being expected to make to many drops in a day?

The road risk policy should take these type of factors into account, looking at what journeys are made, and hours worked.

Drivers

Are they licenced to drive the type of vehicle?

Are they familiar with or have experience of driving the type of vehicle?

How much experience does the driver have?

What type of experience does the driver have?

Have they been driving in a small town or a rural area, and are now expected to drive in a large city, or on motorways?

What age are they?

(insurance companies charge younger drivers more because they are statistically a higher risk)

What is the drivers crash history?

Does the driver have any motoring convictions?

(again there is a statistical correlation between motoring convictions and crashes).

Has their driving been assessed?

Have they received any driver training?

The road risk policy should take these type of factors into account,

Assessing whether drivers are likely to be in a high or low risk group, assessing their driving on the road, and having procedures to investigate crashes.