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In September 2003 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
announced guidance for 'Driving at Work - Managing Work Related
Road Safety' and any organisation with five or more employees would
come under increased scrutiny by the Police and HSE in the event of
a road traffic accident involving a member of staff. Those who are
responsible for health and safety, but fail to provide evidence of
adequate policies and procedures, risk prosecution and even
imprisonment.
Who will be responsible?
The HSE states
that, employers, managers or supervisors with staff who drive, ride
or cycle for work, and in particular those with responsibility for
fleet management, are responsible for ensuring at-work road
safety.
What does the law require?
For
organisations to comply with existing Health and Safety laws, they
need to:
- Ensure their vehicles are roadworthy and comply with road
traffic laws and regulations
- Ensure their employees and others are not put at risk by
work-related road safety activities
- Take responsibility for managing work related road safety
effectively
- Monitor and review risk assessments, and health and safety
policies and procedures, on a regular basis
- Consult with employees on health and safety matters
Who is protected by the law?
The law covers
all staff who need to drive as part of their work, whether it is in
a company or a privately owned vehicle. It includes staff who drive
as a job, those who drive occasionally or for short distances e.g.
travelling to and from meetings, site visits, and travelling to and
from home to a non-permanent place of work.
What advantages are there in having policies to manage
work-related road safety?
Most obviously, they will
reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes on our roads,
and protect those who are responsible for ensuring the health and
safety of staff from prosecution and possible imprisonment.
In addition they will have the following benefits for the
organisation:
- Fewer staff days lost due to injury
- Less time spent on investigation and paperwork
- Fewer vehicles off the road for repair
- Fewer missed orders and business opportunities, reducing the
risk of lost orders and customers
- Reduced insurance claims and premiums
Does your organisation need to set up or review its
Managing Work-related Road Safety
Policies?
Organisations who employ five or more staff
need to consider the following statements to decide if they need to
take action.
- Are you and your staff fully aware of the laws relating to the
Health and Safety of driving at work?
- Do you have a person in your organisation responsible for
managing work-related Road Safety policies and procedures?
- Does your organisation have specific policies and procedures to
cover drivers, vehicles (company and privately owned) and
journeys?
- Do you regularly check your staff's licence and vehicle
documents, have driver assessments and training before driving at
work?
- Are you confident that sufficient policies and procedures are
in place to ensure that your organisation is not open to possible
prosecution in the event of an at work collision involving an
employee?
Is there help available?
LARSOA's 'Driving
Your Business Risk Down', is an interactive CD Rom suitable for
organisations starting to develop at work road safety policies from
scratch, and those with existing policies needing to be reviewed
and updated. It provides a full explanation of the law, case
studies and documents that can be tailored to suit individual
organisations and businesses. LARSOA has further information.
You can also get
free posters and leaflets for the workplace
from the Department for Transport's Think
Website. |