FEATURE


REDUCING THE RISK FROM A TO B


Driving remains one of the riskiest tasks most workers will conduct as part of their


jobs, but is too often overlooked when businesses put risk management processes in place, Richard Hipkiss, Managing Director at Fleet Operations explains.


It is estimated that between one quarter and one third of reported road casualties result from accidents involving someone using the road for work purposes. However, businesses still do not appear to have a firm grip on this issue.


A study conducted recently by telematics supplier TomTom found that a fifth of UK companies whose employees drive for work purposes do not even have a defined road safety policy in place. One of the major problems is that many companies still do not see driving as a core business function, despite the fact many of their employees do it on a daily basis. It is viewed as a means for getting from A to B and not afforded the respect it deserves as a significant threat to employee health and safety. An employer’s Duty of Care underlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 extends to any vehicle driven for business purposes, including private vehicles.


This commitment is reinforced the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which require every employer to carry out an assessment of the risks to the health and safety of all employees while they are at work, including any driving activity.


So, as a minimum requirement, companies should have a ‘driving


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for work’ policy in place, conduct appropriate risk assessments and put measures in place to mitigate identified risks. However, this is only the starting point. Not only is it important for employee safety that organisations strive towards a best practice approach, but there is a clear return- on-investment (ROI) case too. To use a simple example, the average incident costs a company around £440 yet driver training can cost as little as £15.


When addressing road safety, it is important to get the foundations right and that means establishing a positive culture around the issue and gaining buy-in from all employees. This might start by enshrining key principles in a written ‘driving at work’ policy.


Effective employee engagement is necessary to ensure the guiding principles become ingrained in the organisational DNA and this requires both strong leadership and regular communication.


When thinking about communication, it is important to consider how information is consumed by workers. A detailed driver safety handbook can be an extremely useful tool, but it may be more appropriate to slice it into smaller chunks and even use videos, animations and pictoral guides to communicate certain elements.


A varied approach should be taken to internal marketing, which may


include printed material in communal areas, regular e-shots and topical advisory guides. Every employee should be screened and rated as a low, medium or high-risk driver based on factors including age, annual mileage, licence origin, endorsements, previous driver training and incidents.


This baseline can be enriched by information from online driver assessments – covering hazard perception, driving regulations, observation and attitude – highlighting problematic trends that might benefit from targeted training or development. Meanwhile, insurance and MOT documents for non-company cars should be checked at point of renewal, rather than a fixed annual date.


It is also necessary to consider input from external providers, such as telematics, insurance and accident management data, that can further help to identify problem areas within a fleet.


All of this data should then be used to identify pain points, allowing specific measures to be put in place to address any issues. Similarly, all incidents – regardless of their seriousness – should go through a root cause analysis, allowing recommendations to be made on further action and training.


www.fleetoperations.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com


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