It has been proven that a coordinated and targeted approach to fleet risk management leads to a reduction in collision frequency and severity, which in turn generates reduction in collision (direct) costs and lost-time (indirect) costs.  A reduction in collision frequency and severity will also help to improve your motor insurance premiums in subsequent years and place immediate savings on your bottom line.  To put this into perspective; the UK Trades Union Congress estimates that the annual cost of work-related drivers being killed or injured on UK roads is c£3.5 billion!

Combine money savings with the implications of the new Corporate Manslaughter legislation on work-related road safety and you have at least two very compelling reasons why your directors should support and lead this programme.

Drivers will develop skills which not only secure their own safety, but also that of their passengers and ultimately members of the public. They will learn how to manage their stress levels and learn to relax and enjoy driving once more.  All of this would help to improve efficiency in their work through better journey planning, etc. Drivers on company business will feel valued by the company knowing that it has invested in their welfare, whilst also providing them with skills and knowledge that can be passed onto family members and friends.

You don’t need to be a psychologist to know that getting people to talk about their experiences can reap significant rewards.  We facilitate seminars and workshops to help promote discussion among groups of drivers who will consider problems experienced in fulfilling their duties and identify ways to resolve them, committing to future actions.  IOSH research shows a company that implemented this type of measure achieved a 56 percent reduction in collision rates in the two years after the measure was introduced.

The Health & Safety at Work 1974 Act requires companies to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees whilst at work.  This includes driving.  Companies also have a responsibility to ensure that others are not put at risk by their work-related driving activities.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, companies are required to carry out an assessment of risks to the health and safety of all employees and other people who may be affected by their work activity.

In support of the legislation, the Dykes Report (first published in 2001) recommended that: "Existing health and safety law should be applied to on-road activities and that employers should manage road risk in the same way as other risks."

In order to assist businesses to better address their road risk obligations, the Health & Safety Executive published an employer’s guide to ‘Driving and riding safely for work’.  The Health & Safety Executive has also published research papers on contributory factors to driving behaviour (rr020.pdf) and the management of work-related road safety (rr018.pdf).

Your Driver & Vehicle Risk Management System should monitor and control three fundamental aspects:

1. your drivers;
2. your vehicles;
3. your business journey planning.

A well-developed management system must address the following:

1. Policy - a written policy that covers work-related road safety (and is reviewed annually and approved by senior management);
2. Responsibility - clearly defined management roles and responsibilities;
3. Organisation - an integrated organisational structure that allows cooperation across departments with different responsibilities for work-related road safety.  In smaller businesses, your aim is to ensure you consider the links between driving activities;
4. Systems - adequate systems that allow you to manage work-related road safety effectively;
5. Monitoring - effective monitoring activities to ensure the system delivers uninhibited on the requirements of the business.

The Health and Safety Executive provides guidance for companies to work to. This requires that, not only do their workers have to drive within the road traffic rules, but also that the company itself has clearly risk assessed, documented and implemented safe systems of work for their vehicles, drivers, journeys, sites and processes. The document also clarifies that the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations requirements on risk assessment do apply to work-related driving, even where people are using their own vehicle.

Through our extensive knowledge of fleet risk and compliance arrangements, we have created a unique web-enabled ‘Driver Intelligence System’ (DIS).  We believe driver intelligence is key.  DIS is a web-enabled management system that can be used to collate and analyse driver and vehicle risk data in order to identify optimal risk mitigation actions, whilst also producing a plethora of reports for the board of directors, insurers, etc.

There is a clear requirement to: a) define your company’s policy; b) assess the risk and; c) manage the outcomes.  These actions can be included within your existing health and safety management system, or you can develop a bespoke driver and vehicle risk management system to specifically manage your occupational road risk.