What's The Risk

 

If a person is driving on behalf of your business, they are classed as being ‘at work’. You, and the employee have a ‘duty of care’. In order to comply with that ‘duty of care’ you will require a Work Related Road Safety Policy and safe system of work including the following areas.

* Senior management having defined responsibilities for managing Work Related Road Safety.
* Have organisational structures, which allow effective communication of Work Related Road Safety between departments.
* Ensure the competency of personnel who are required to drive at work.
* Evaluate training needs in relation to Work Related Road Safety.
* Identify appropriate Health and Fitness considerations, and provide advice for personnel who drive at work.
* Consider ergonomic and safety factors when purchasing vehicles.
* Ensure your vehicles are fit for purpose.
* Provide appropriate safety equipment and provide ‘safety critical’ information.
* Evaluate and risk assess routes and ensure appropriate scheduling to minimise fatigue.
* To evaluate the suitability and measure the effectiveness of the Work Related Road Safety programme.

Work Related Road Safety can only be effectively managed if it is integrated into your arrangements for managing health and safety at work. You should look at your health and safety systems and consider whether they adequately cover this area of work. The main areas you need to address are, policy, responsibility, organisation, systems and monitoring.

Policy:

Does your health and safety policy statement cover Work Related Road Safety?

Responsibility:

Is there top-level commitment to Work Related Road Safety in your organisation and is responsibility clearly defined. Does the person responsible for it have sufficient authority to exert influence and does everyone understand what is expected of them?

Organisation and Structure:

In larger organisations, your aim is to ensure that you have an integrated organisational structure that allows co-operation across departments with different responsibilities .

Systems:

Do you have adequate systems to allow you to manage Work Related Road Safety effectively? For example, are you confident that your vehicles are regularly inspected and serviced in accordance with manufacturers recommendations?

Monitoring:

Do you monitor performance to ensure that your work related safety policy is effective? Are your employees encouraged to report all work related road incidents without fear that punitive action will be taken against them? Do you collect sufficient information to allow you to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of the existing policy and the need for changes?

Review:

Drivetime Fleet Driver Training can carry out a review of your existing systems and procedures and recommend interventions. We can work with you to produce a suitable Work Related Road Safety Policy and procedures and assist you with any driver training requirements.