LONE WORKER PROTECTION
DRIVING SAFETY FORWARD
Taking a dual -responsibility in reducing work-related road risk is of
paramount importance, says Simon Turner, Campaigns Manager at Driving for Better Business.
that use the nation’s roads every day, there are many that still don’t have driver and vehicle policies and procedures that are as thorough as they need to be.
There are a multitude of factors that influence work- related road risk and both employers and employees must identify and mitigate factors and reduce the associated risk to vehicles, drivers, passengers, other road users and pedestrians.
This is where the dual responsibility of organisational leadership is needed. Employees that drive a company-owned or leased vehicle, or their own personal vehicle, for work purposes, should know what their legal and ethical obligations are when they are driving that vehicle. More importantly, they must be able to ensure that both they and their vehicle are in a safe and roadworthy condition every time they embark on a business journey.
Leadership is not a singular activity. Today, successful organisations are swift, flexible, adaptable and relationship orientated. Management ‘diffuses’ leadership across the organisation to gain the benefit of ideas and creativity from all its talent and resources.
The idea that entire organisations ‘follow’ the thoughts and directions of a single person has eroded to a point where it is accepted that everyone has a valid contribution to make in directing an organisation’s success.
That is why I believe organisational leadership is often seriously lacking in addressing work-related road risk, because it is the dual responsibility of management and employees. With a third of road collisions involving someone who is driving for work at the time, the police are increasingly realising that it isn’t always just the driver at fault. Poor management and work procedures can be a significant contributory factor.
First and foremost, driving for work is a health and safety issue and companies must ensure the right driving for work policies are put in place. Despite this, from the conversations I have had with C-suite decision makers across the UK, working practises and policies are often not wide-ranging enough to achieve compliance.
Of the millions of small, medium and large organisations in both the public and private sector
16
Management must be aware of their legal and ethical obligations to those that ride or drive for work. How your business operations might affect the safety of your drivers and other road users is covered under existing health and safety legislation.
A driving for work policy is an absolute must because it explains the standards you expect of your drivers. Meeting these standards can help to reduce costs and drive efficiencies for businesses including vehicle maintenance costs, collision repair costs, insurance and fuel efficiency costs, business mileage costs, and staff retention. A driving for work policy can also help protect your business’s reputation.
The driving policies and procedures need to not only consider the state of the vehicle, but also the health of the driver. Research in 2017 by Mercedes-Benz, which found that of 2,000 van drivers surveyed, one in five described their current state of mental health as poor. Behavioural factors that can affect employees driving could be aggression, attitude to risk, driving excitement, ineffective coping strategy, fatigue, stress and work schedules. What is your organisation’s policy on employee fatigue? What is your leadership team’s opinion on employees answering calls from supervisors or clients regardless of where they are?
If drivers and their employers are aware of the factors that may pose a risk, the chance of an incident whilst driving can be dramatically reduced. The way in which organisations use vehicles is rapidly changing with many now looking at broader ‘mobility’ strategies that focus as much on safety and sustainability as they do productivity.
www.tomorrowshs.com
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