Employers must take every precaution to protect employees driving fleet vehicles as legislation looms large.
Fleet Legislation
There are a range of laws and fleet legislation that fleet managers and their drivers need to adhere to. These range from road safety laws such as speed limit regulations, anti-drink driving legislation and minimum vehicle standards rules to health and safety regulations in the workplace and even anti-smoking laws that apply in company vehicles.
In 2008 the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act became statute law and even though up to now no prosecutions under this act have been brought this is still the ultimate piece of legislation to be fearful of.
The Act means that an organisation is guilty of the offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care to the deceased. A substantial part of the breach must have been in the way activities were managed by senior management.
Companies and organisations that take their obligations under health and safety law seriously are not likely to be in breach of the new provisions. Nonetheless, companies and organisations should keep their health and safety management systems under review, in particular, the way in which their activities are managed or organised by senior management and this includes all aspects of fleet management and driving for work and on company business.
Requirements of the Board
The board should set the direction for effective health and safety management. Board members need to establish a health and safety policy (which includes fleet management and driving at work) that is much more than a document – it should be an integral part of your organisation’s culture, of its values and performance standards.
All board members should take the lead in ensuring the communication of health and safety duties and benefits throughout the organisation. Executive directors must develop policies to avoid health and safety problems and must respond quickly where difficulties arise or new risks are introduced; non-executives must make sure that health and safety is properly addressed.
Lifetime costs
The true costs of accidents to organisations are nearly always higher than just the costs of repairs and insurance claims. The consequences of an accident on the self-employed and small businesses are likely to be proportionately greater than on a larger business with greater resources. The benefits to a business from managing work-related road safety can be considerable, no matter the size of the business.
It allows a business to exercise better control over costs, such as wear and tear and fuel, insurance premiums and legal fees and claims from employees and third parties. It also allows management to make informed decisions about matters such as driver training and vehicle purchase, and helps identify where health and safety improvements can be made.
In summary
Case studies and research have shown that benefits from managing work-related road safety and reducing crashes include: fewer days lost due to injury; reduced risk of work-related ill health; reduced stress and improved morale; less need for investigation and paperwork; less lost time due to work rescheduling; fewer vehicles off the road for repair; reduced running costs through better driving standards; fewer missed orders and business opportunities so reduced risk of losing the goodwill of customers.
Promoting sound health and safety driving practices and a good safety culture at work may well spill over into private driving, which could reduce the chances of staff being injured in a crash outside work.
If you need help or advice on fleet risk management or any aspect of health and safety then please contact us or request a call back – or call and speak directly to a friendly consultant or occupational hygienist on 01453 800100. You can become a member of our Safety~net support service over the phone and get help right away, whatever your problem.
